The Taste of Peaches
by Grounders10
Summary: On the last day of school before summer break Taylor Hebert's life changed forever when she was locked in her own locker. When the door opened again, it wasn't to her school. Blessed with new powers and new possibilities Taylor hopes to become a hero... If she can convince her talking pet fox to stop telling everyone she's a god.
1. Chapter 1

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A Worm Fanfic

The Taste of Peaches

By: Grounders10

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1

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Taylor smacked her palm against the metal back-wall of her locker. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." She growled at herself.

Getting locked in your own locker is one of those things you think only happens in books. The little geeky nerd who would lose a fistfight with a bunny is the sort who gets picked up by the big strong jocks and thrown into his locker before being sealed inside until someone takes pity on them.

Taylor was… A bit of a nerd she'd admit, but one thing she wasn't was little. She was tall and lanky like her father, a build that was thin enough to allow her to just barely fit into the locker. It was really cramped inside the locked and she had, at the beginning, nearly passed out from hyperventilation. It could have been worse, at least it was just her locker and she kept it pretty clean compared to most students.

"On the last day to." She grumbled as she tried to brace herself against the wall as best she could before, for what felt like the millionth time, she pushed against the door with her back. She yelled and screamed incoherently, but the damned thing refused to move because steel was stronger than a 5' 6" fifteen-year-old girl.

"What the hell is that noise?" A voice, old and weathered like rock filtered through the air grates above her.

She stopped. Finally. "HELP!" She shouted, banging against the door. "HELP! I'VE BEEN LOCKED IN MY LOCKER! GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

The response she got was completely contrary to her expectations. The voice did not tell her to hold on while it got some tools, or conveniently have a lock cutter on hand to let her out. Instead, she got…

"Oh hell no." The old voice growled, "I don't care what you ABB fuckers think you're doing but I ain't falling for that trick again. Hell no. YOU HEAR ME YOU DEGENERATES! I AIN'T FALLING FOR IT!"

"THIS ISN'T A TRICK! LET ME OUT!" Taylor shouted after a moment of stupified silence.

"Not listening. Not hearing ah thing! Nope, nope, nope. Lalalalala!" She listened as the old man's voice faded into the distance with disbelief. She was being left to die, _in her own locker,_ _**because the ABB gangbangers pranked a Janitor?**_

Her scream of rage rang through the halls of the school. Frustrated and angry beyond reason she slammed herself against the metal door again. And again. And again. With a growl that would have probably sounded inhuman to anyone who might have overheard her, she slammed into the door a fourth time only for there to be, unlike the last three times, a loud screech of tearing metal as the lock on the door was ripped apart and she fell out of the locker.

She landed heavily in the sand and blinked up at the dark cloudy sky above her as a light rain splattered across her face. Waves lapped at her ankles. She blinked and sat up. She was on a beach and floating in front of her, inches above the water, was the open door of her locker. Just the door itself, hanging in the air like a Mobius strip.

"What the hell?" She asked the world as she stared at the floating locker door. The bent open door quivered under her gaze like a nervous dog before it, without her touching it, slammed shut with a screech of tearing metal as the door forced itself into shape before the locker blinked out of existence leaving her with the view of dark foreboding lake and tall cloud obscured mountains in the distance.

And nowhere to go.

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"Where am I?" She asked the world. It, being a place and not a person, failed to respond. She sat there for a moment before picking herself up, brushing the sand from her pants and hoodie as she did.

"It's in my hair." She whined as she shook her long curly hair out as best she could. Little bits of wet sand stuck to it in places. She fiddled with it, absorbing herself in something that made sense for a few minutes before giving up in disgust.

Finally, no longer able to ignore the reality around her, she looked around. She was on a beach, by a lake, surrounded by mountains, on an overcast day. Honestly not that strange. She'd been camping a few times and this didn't look all that different… except for the absolute pitch-black water or the forest of stone trees, minus leaves, not even a hundred feet away.

"Well, this is… weird." She muttered. Was this a cape thing? Did some cape just send her who the fuck knew where just to get her out of her _locker?_ Or… She paused and looked down at her hands. "Did I do this?"

It wasn't impossible, people got their powers somewhere and it wasn't like those who did were ever willing to give interviews about it. Despite her own longtime interest in superheroes and capes in general just finding out when and how people had gained powers was next to impossible. No one talked about it.

Hesitantly she reached out and gave the air a push while trying to think of home.

Nothing happened.

She tried again.

Still nothing.

She sighed. "Probably not me then." She sighed as she looked around. Well, something weird had happened, and this place looked like it might have been the site of a cape battle. Stone trees weren't exactly a naturally occurring thing after all.

"What do I do now?" She wondered worriedly. She had no idea where she was, no food, the water was questionable at best, and a possibly haunted stone forest behind her. Bad was an understatement.

Just as panic was setting in a loud… not quite bark sounded from behind her. She spun in place and stared. "A fox?" She said, confused.

A pure white fox was sitting at the edge of the beach, tongue lolling out as it sat there calm and apparently unconcerned about the stone trees behind it. It 'yipped' at her and hopped to its feet before running back towards the trees. It paused at the tree when she didn't follow, then ran back to the beach and yipped again before running to the trees again. It repeated it a dozen more times.

Moving cautiously, who knew if the cute fox would turn out to be a murderous beast in disguise and this place certainly looked like the home for such a creature, she approached the fox. It yipped happily and went further into the trees, pausing to watch her every few feet.

Taylor stopped at the trees and tapped one of them. It felt like stone, though the bark had the rough-hewn look of something that was once wood. The fox yipped at her. She frowned. On one hand, she had no idea what was going on; on the other hand, she had a fox trying to get her to follow it into a spooky stone tree forest.

Neither were good situations.

The fox yipped at her again. She sighed. "Oh, this is a bad idea." She muttered before following the fox. They always said don't follow strangers, always be aware of the danger of masters and other mind-controlling capes. Who knew what they could do. For all she knew this was a cape in disguise trying to lure her to her death.

It was still better than standing on a beach without a plan or a clue.

The walk through the forest was long, hours long going by her watch. When they finally left the creepy, but apparently completely empty, forest behind it was telling her it was nearly midnight. Her dad was, assuming he had made it home from work, probably going nuts wondering where she was.

She sighed. No point in worrying too hard about that. She could apologize for being late and worrying him _after_ she got home… somehow. First though…

The fox might have led her out of the forest, but it had led her to the base of a sheer cliff face. With stairs. Nice, perfectly carved stairs that led up, and up, and up some more. The cliff disappeared somewhere above the clouds and the stairs followed as far as she could see.

The fox yipped excitedly and started up the stairs. She stared at it. It stopped on the fifth stair and looked back at her. If Taylor had to assign an emotion to it, she'd say it was amused. It knew just how annoyed she was with this entire situation.

She groaned and started climbing. This was going to take a while.

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It was three hours later when Taylor finally stopped for a break. Not because she was, as one would expect after the better part of twelve hours of walking, tired. She stopped because she wasn't.

According to her watch, it was nearly four in the morning. It had been, when she arrived, four-thirty in the afternoon. Somehow the weird twilight had not changed, at all. It was still just as bright, just as dark as it had been when she arrived. She could have shown up at dawn perhaps, but it was still odd.

She found a seat on one of the steps. They had started wide at the bottom, but this far up they were only a couple feet wide and a slip would send plummeting to the ground below.

"Why am I here?" She asked the empty air.

The fox, just as not tired as she was, walked over and plopped its head into her lap. It looked up at her and whined, an odd noise somewhere between a huff and meow. Very strange. Cute, but strange.

She looked down at it and cautiously scratched behind one ear. It made a funny almost purring noise. "Why am I following you? Up a mountain in some… where. What is this place?" Looking out over the side treated her to the view of just how expansive that forest really was. Stone trees went for dozens of miles, most disappearing around outcroppings of the mountain range. The lake stretched for miles and if it might not have been a lake. Even this high up she couldn't see the far side of the inky black waters.

The fox sneezed and stood up. It cantered up a few stairs and then stopped, looking down at her. It yipped and kept going.

She frowned, then sighed. It wasn't like foxes could talk so… She got to her feet and started the long trudge up the mountain. For whatever reason, it wasn't physically exhausting… But god, it was boring.

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The climb through the clouds had been slow and treacherous. While the stairs had widened by a couple of feet there was the issue of visibility. At times she had to practically crawl to be able to see the ground and twice she had nearly stepped off the side. Only the warnings of the fox had stopped her from plummeting to her death.

Above the clouds, there had been sunshine. The sea of clouds practically glowed in the sunlight. It was a spectacularly beautiful sight. Only ruined by the staircase that continued stretch into the distance above her. Still, it looked like there might be an end. She could see something, glittering, in the distance.

As she started on this latest leg of the climb she glanced at her watch. It was eight am. There was definitely something strange about the days in this place.

It took another ten hours of slow, boring, and inexplicably not tiring climbing to reach the top. When she crested the top of the stairs she stopped and stared. The staircase let out onto a plateau. The area around the staircase was a stone plain, open and windswept without a single shred of grass or weed or other plant to name. That was not what had made her stop.

In the distance, though no more than a mile or so, was a a fortress. Vast, with walls the stretched for miles to either side and which stretched hundreds of meters above the plains it shone gold in the sunlight. Galleries littered the outside of the wall It was an eye-searing spectacle.

Between her and the fortress, the plain was… She swallowed nervously and her heart beat a bit faster. It was a warzone seemingly frozen in time. Legions of stone men, wearing stone armour and carrying stone weapons were locked in battle with monsters. Some appeared as though they had sprung from myth. Stone hydras loomed over companies of warriors. Wolves the size of Endbringers chomped on men like candies.

Her eyes followed one beast, it's nose pointed towards the sky, and she stared at the statue of a man that floated in the sky above, as though the man had turned to stone mid-flight and physics had abandoned him to forever float in place.

The large beasts weren't the only ones though. Smaller ones swarmed around the larger ones. Men with the heads of pigs, creatures with spindly limbs the looked too fragile to exist, things that simply floated despite being stone. Just round balls with too many eyes on stalks. More, things she couldn't recognize or even hope to describe.

Thousands of these things, tens of thousands perhaps on a plane that stretched impossibly in directions she knew it couldn't. Like back the way she came. She had climbed a sheer cliff, there was no overhang. Yet it stretched back, over where she had come from all the way to the horizon. The only edge was the cliff beside her, off of which clouds stretched in a golden sea beyond the horizon.

"What the hell is this." She said quietly, watching the nearest statues, a group of pigmen, carefully. Everything seemed still, unmoving no matter how impossible their positions.

The fox yipped at her and casually walked up to one of the pigmen. Its bloated form was encased in what looked like a heavy plate. The fox jumped up on its head and yipped loudly its triumph. Slowly the statue tipped and the fox jumped off as it fell over. It shattered as it hit the ground. She jumped nervously, but nothing reacted to her. Everything was still. Everything.

She licked her lips nervously. "It's all stone. Just like the trees." She said to herself. "Just… just stone." Walking slowly she followed the fox through the battlefield. Passed snarling monsters and bizarre creatures. Passed rank after rank of soldiers. Passed a battle frozen in its last moments.

A frozen impossibility.

She reached the gates after a long, and very nerve-wracking, walk. There were three gates, spaced several hundred meters apart. Each one was large enough for a container ship to pass through. On either side of each gate stood statues taller than the gates. Vast men, each a hundred meters tall, with heavy ceremonial armour, large two-handed greatswords, and tusks that stuck out of their mouths. Each tusk looked about as long as she was tall, probably more.

The gates, made from what looked like iron decorated in the entire rainbow of Jade colours, stood open. Through one a legion of men was marching in formation towards the front. Through another, a massive elephant, twice as large as anything she had seen on TV, pulled a train of steel carts.

She looked back at the monsters on the battlefield behind her. What had she stumbled into? This place… These things had to have been real once. A battle of literal mythical proportions, with creatures that had seemingly been pulled from storybooks and myths. Everything was too grand, too massive of scale and scope to be some art project… unless she had shrunk maybe? Was she on someone's art project, just a miniature person running around?

The fox, by the only gate not occupied, yipped loudly at her. She ran after it and tried to push her questions aside, but they were only growing with time.

The inside of the fortress did nothing to calm her. Tens of thousands of men, thousands of rooms, hundreds of hallways. The Fortress was vast in a way she couldn't have imagined. Most of the fortress was frozen in a moment of every-day military life. Soldiers trained, some rested, some performed jobs. Had been performing jobs. All of them were statues.

"Maybe they were always statues." She said. Her voice bounced strangely off the walls of the hallway she was in. They weren't words she believed. There was just… too much. Something had turned these people to stone. All the people, the birds, insects, monsters, even plants. It was all stone.

Everything except the fox.

As she followed it deeper into the fortress she had to wonder what it was. It couldn't just be a fox. It was acting too strange. Was it responsible for this?

Was she next?

Regular life, civilian and military, gave way to checkpoints, barricades, and stranger things the further in they went. One hallway, long and wide enough to be the main street through her home city of Brockton Bay, looked like the floors and walls had turned to wax and melted, running together. Tentacles, made of stone like everything else, had burst from walls and misshapen creatures clashed with men in increasingly elaborate armour with weapons that spanned all of history. Bearded axes, khopeshes, jians, gladiuses, weapons from a thousand civilizations were wielded by an army just as varied in appearance.

Through it all, the fox walked. Passed eldritch abominations, between the legs of giants, and around the blocks of soldiers fighting for their lives.

Eventually though, after hours of walking, it came to an end. The Fox led her into a courtyard. Stone bushes lined the sides. Carefully tended flower beds of stone roses and many other flowers were arranged with fountains that still sprayed water. The sound of flowing water was horrifically loud after over a day without anything other than her own feet and that fox.

At the center of the garden, behind ranks of soldiers, was a peach tree. Men and women, dressed as Confucian scholars, Vikings, Greeks, Aztecs, and more stood around it in a circle. There were hundreds of them.

She walked passed them all, into the clearing around the tree where the fox had gone. She found it, sitting at the feet of three statues. A man, dressed as a Viking with a hammer in his belt; a man dressed in a toga with a laurel upon his head; and a woman whose features reflected the sun as though she was born to shine. They stood in a triangle at the base of the tree, their hands clasped together before them, and their eyes shut.

The fox sat directly beneath their hands.

Taylor looked around. Was this it? "What is this place?" She asked the fox.

It looked at her, tilted its head, then looked up. At the stone tree.

Only, it wasn't entirely stone. A single branch, just a small one off the main arms, was bark. Its leaves were gold and from it hung a peach. A golden peach.

She stared for a moment at it. Searching for something to say, or even do. "Isn't it supposed to be an apple?"

The fox gave her a flat look and she shrugged. "What do you want? What is this? Why am I here? TELL ME WHY I CLIMBED A MOUNTAIN!" She shouted. Her body heaved as her worry grew enough to drive her to her knees. Had she just followed a fox down a rabbit hole for nothing?

She looked at her watch. It was approaching two days since she'd started this mess. Two days without water, food, or… "Dad must be so worried." She rubbed her forehead.

The Fox nodded, then stepped back. It leapt up, landing on the hands of the three before leaping again. It landed on the stone branch from which grew the wooden one. She watched, curious as to what it was doing, as it carefully walked down the branch before leaning out towards the golden peach. Its teeth snapped the peach from the tree.

The peach fell, bounced off the head of the viking, and rolled across the ground to her feet. The Fox looked at her, then at the peach, then her again.

"You want me to eat it?" She asked, picking the peach up. It was smooth and felt like it was just perfectly ripe.

The Fox yipped at her.

She looked down at the peach. She swallowed nervously. "This…" She licked her dry lips. "Oh what the hell." She bit into it.

The sun flared to life.

Lightning flowed through her veins.

The clouds below rumbled.

Wind roared through the courtyard.

The water in the fountains surged upwards, defying gravity as the droplets felt towards the sky.

Her glasses shattered on the floor.

The Fox above her disintegrated into golden particles that floated down to her, disappearing with little flashes as they met her skin.

-0-0-0-0-0-

When the world came back into focus Taylor gasped and fell backwards. The peach, now just a pit, rolled away from her. A sharp pain in her rear shot up her spine as she fell back. It felt like she had just squashed something or bent it.

One hand reached back to massage the pained spot as she sat up. She froze, halfway to sitting up, as it met something that felt soft and she felt an odd touch on… She twisted on the spot to look behind her. "Oh." She said weakly. She had tails. Nine of them, she counted despite her surprise. Nine long flowing tails with hair the same hair as her original curly locks.

"I, have tails." She said, running a hand through a tail. It- she, twitched at the strange sensation. She raised a hand the rub her forehead. She paused as she realized she wasn't wearing her glasses anymore. Where were- oh. She spotted the broken glasses on the ground by her feet.

Her ears twitched with irritation as she picked them up. Those had been expensive for them. Her dad was not going to be… be. Oh god. "What have I gotten into." She asked as she looked around the garden. The world was crystal clear around her, despite the fact that her glasses were lying on the ground broken. Good eyesight was nice, yeah. That was something she take from this.

Sure she'd grown nine more limbs, walked for two days, and eaten a quite possibly parahuman created fruit, but at least she had good vision now? She could see the individual droplet of water in that fountain on the other side of the courtyard. And the scrollwork on that bench on the balcony four floors up. The one written in Egyptian. Or the weird ghosts stepping out of the three statues in front of her.

She blinked and slowly turned to face the three ghosts that had just stepped out of their statues. Ghosts. Oh god, oh god, oh god.

The two men looked down at her. The Viking looked amused, while the Greek had a look of reserved judgement. The woman, whose kimono now shimmered in the sunlight, simply smiled down at her.

A sharp series of crackling pops behind snapped her out of her observations. Still breathing unsteadily she risked a glance behind her. Her tails were tingling, and the reason was immediately apparent. Electricity was arcing from one tail to the next like lightning jumping from storm cloud to storm cloud.

"She'll have much to learn." The Greek said, pulling her attention back.

"She will have time to." The Viking replied.

The woman shook her head. "Judge her later. We have little time." She said, getting a grunt from each man.

"Who are you?" Taylor asked. Their replies sent her eyes wide.

"I am Amaterasu, Goddess of the Sun."

"Thor Odinson, God of Thunder."

"Poseidon, God of the Sea."

"We are the three chosen to pass on a message." Amaterasu, the Goddess of the Sun finished.

"You're gods?" Taylor asked.

"Were gods. We're dead now." Thor said.

"We haven't much time to answer questions. I am very sorry." Amaterasu apologized. She knelt down beside Taylor. "I know this is a bit of a shock, and all very sudden. However, yes we are gods. Everyone here was either a God or one of our servants. Whether spirits or mortals."

"It was here we made our last stand." Poseidon said, "Against a foe one hundred years ago. It came from beyond the stars and attempted to spread its corrupt influence through all the worlds under our protection."

Thor nodded. "Aye. We saw it off. It shan't return for at least a thousand years, but it cost us everything." Apparently noticing her horrified look he added, "This is not unusual for gods. Ragnarok, of a sort, comes around every few thousand years. That era's gods see it off and everything continues apace. Why I think we lasted longer than most have."

Poseidon chuckled. "Longer than the Mesopotamian gods. I believe it might even be a record."

The Japanese Goddess sighed. "You're worrying her. Stop." She said before turning back to Taylor. "Taylor. You arrived here by accident I assume?" She asked.

"Y-yes." Taylor nodded. "I was stuck in my locker and the door just suddenly opened to here."

She nodded. "Here is the Land of the Gods. The Divine Plane if you would. The only way you can reach here is if you are a God or work for one." Amaterasu said.

The implications did not fly by Taylor. "I'm not god. I got locked in my own locker not two days ago. What god gets locked in a locker?" She asked.

"I was eaten by my father," Poseidon said, "I'd say a stomach is far more cramped than a metal box. Especially since my siblings were there as well."

Thor nodded. "Well, I would be lying if I said either had happened to me. But I have been eaten by a monster or two. Getting stuck in tight spots is a very godly thing to do."

Amaterasu sighed. "There is no mistake." She said, "You are a god. The first goddess of a new age."

"I can't be-" Amaterasu's hand covered her mouth. She blinked at the older goddess.

"As much as I would prefer to spend time talking sense into you, I'm afraid we don't have time." The Sun Goddess said. "You are the first Goddess of this era. Not some gifted mortal, or cursed fool like those you run about the world at present."

Thor flickered for a moment. "We're out of time." He said.

"Girl," Poseidon said, "If you wish to learn how to be a Goddess, listen to what feels true to you. Follow it to the source and you will know yourself."

What the hell did that mean? Taylor shook her head at the man.

"And, the foe we vanquished." Thor said, "More of its kind have come to Earth. One is already dead, but the other is about. Be wary. These things trade in deceit." More of what did this? What was she supposed to do?

"Taylor." Her eyes snapped to Amaterasu. The older woman smiled sadly. "You are the first. More will come. This is not your task alone. I'm sorry we cannot do more. For now, I will use the last of my power to send you home. This place has nothing you need as of yet. When you are ready to return here. You will know how to open the door."

The three gods stood around her. Together they raised their hands and the world went white.

-0-0-0-0-0-

She blinked the spots from here eyes. She was in a hallway. She blinked again. She recognized this hallway, it was the upper hallway in her house.

Her tails flicked side to side. Her ears twitched.

So she was a Goddess now? And that was somehow different from a parahuman?

She sighed, the weight of being awake for two days was suddenly hitting her. She felt absolutely exhausted. Even her new limbs were sagging from the effort of staying awake.

"Who are you?" She stiffened as she recognized her father's voice. She spun on the spot, turning to face her dad as he was coming up the stairs.

"Dad." She said as she faced him. His eyes widened.

"Taylor?" He asked.

She opened her mouth to respond, only to frown as the world began to tip. Why was it tipping? God, she was tired. She could just-

She was out cold and dreaming by the time she hit the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

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A Worm Fanfic

The Taste of Peaches

By: Grounders10

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2

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When Taylor woke up she was surprised to find herself tucked under the covers of her own bed. It wasn't that she had expected to wake up in jail, or in the hospital, but after the last couple of days waking up in her bed with the sun pouring through her window was odd. It felt strangely surreal after walking through a battlefield that was literally pulled from myth. Assuming she hadn't just imagined it all.

She tried to sit up, but stopped and slid back down to lie on her side instead when she felt a sharp pain in her backside. She rolled to the side and flipped back her covers.

Nine long and fluffy raven-haired foxtails greeted her. As she watched they twitched and moved in an irritated manner, matching her mood.

She let out an explosive sigh and fell back onto her pillow. "I have a tail, tails." She said to the room. That hadn't been a strange dream. She really had climbed a mountain, explored a battlefield frozen in time, and maybe been turned into a god? Assuming they weren't just crazy parahumans.

She held out a hand in front of her. Her skin tone was normal, her fingers looked normal. Still that wasn't enough to know what her experience had changed. She needed a mirror. Her covers were knocked to the floor as she sat up and swung her legs under her.

The door to her room clicked as the doorknob turned and it swung open before she could stand up. Her dad, Danny Hebert, paused in the doorway. "Taylor." He smiled, "you're awake."

He stood in the doorway, looking awkward. "It is you Little Owl?" He asked.

She grimaced at the doubt, but then glanced back at her tails. In a world of strangers and masters, it was only natural doubt when your daughter shows up after being missing for several days with new body parts. Not that it meant it hurt any less.

Taylor nodded. "Yeah. The last couple of days were, rather strange." She admitted.

Danny hesitated for a moment before crossing the room and pulling her into a hug. "I was so worried." His breath tickled her ears. Her ears?

"Dad." She asked, giving him a tentative hug back. "Um, is there something on top of my head?"

He pulled back looking hesitant. "You don't know?" He said.

She shook her head. "What does it look like?" She asked. It felt like her ears had moved.

He swallowed nervously. "You have animal ears on top of your head." He said, brushing one with a hand.

She flinched and withdrew, her hands going to her head. She quickly found the twin triangles of fur that her ears had become. She gulped and her hands dropped into her lap.

"What happened?" Her father asked.

She licked her dry lips. "A lot." She said. A low rumble interrupted her and they both glanced down at her stomach. She blushed as her father chuckled.

"You're hungry?" He asked with a smile.

"Maybe a bit." She admitted. Two days without food was a long time. Even if she hadn't seemed to need it then, it now felt like all that time was catching up with her.

He patted her on the shoulder and stood up. "I'll get started on food then." He said, "Get cleaned up and come on down."

Taylor paused. "Are you saying I stink?" She asked flatly. Her father merely chuckled as he left the room. She gave herself an experimental sniff and coughed. Well, it might not have been flattering, but she definitely needed a shower. Turned out that two days of walking built up a sweat even if you weren't paying attention.

She shot a glance at her new tails. Could she even fit in the shower anymore? Did she have enough shampoo? She sighed and stood, her tails waved about and for a moment she nearly overbalanced before something clicked and she found her balance. A couple tentative steps proved that she wasn't in danger of falling over… though she did need to learn to control her tails. Her alarm clock was undamaged, but next time it might be something more valuable.

-0-0-0-0-0-

One awkward shower later, wherein she discovered that yes she did have enough shampoo, just; and that a normal shower was a fairly tight squeeze for a tall fifteen-year-old teenage girl with nine fluffy fox tails about as long as she was tall (the suds had coated everything); she entered the kitchen.

She paused at the base of the staircase. Through the doorway into the kitchen, she could see her dad working at the stove. She could hear the snap-pop of cooking bacon and the smell was heavenly. Her stomach growled and she blushed as Danny glanced over his shoulder at her.

"I was wondering when you were going to come down." He said, flipping some bacon as she entered. "I was about to come and check on you."

"Washing nine tails took a bit longer than normal." It hadn't taken too much longer, but there were nine of them. She went to sit down at the table and paused. Sitting in what was usually her spot was a very familiar fox. It looked up at her and she would swear it was smiling at her.

"Dad, why is there a fox here?" She asked, staring it in the eye. It looked away without a care as her dad came over and placed a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast in his seat.

"Sit, eat." He told her, "And I was hoping you could tell me. It showed up last night and has been sitting here since."

Sliding sideways into the offered chair she frowned at the fox that was eyeing her breakfast. "Don't you dare." She said to it as she piled bacon and eggs on toast. It smiled at her, tongue lolling out of its mouth as it tried to play innocent. She knew better, however. It was a fox, it was far from innocent by default.

"Taylor?" Her dad prompted.

She sighed. "I think it's the same fox I spent two days following around." She said.

"Excuse me?" He asked, "You followed a fox around for two days?"

She grumbled and took a bit of her breakfast. The bacon was a bit overcooked, but the crunch made her mouth water more. She moaned slightly as she ate, one eye constantly watching the fox as it tracked each bite, that same silly expression on its face. Finishing that slice of toast she started piling another one up.

"Taylor."

She paused. "Can I finish eating first?" She asked, looking up at her dad. Without realizing it her tails and ears had both drooped as she pouted at him.

"I- Sure." He said with a smile, before promptly stealing one of her pieces of bacon.

"DAD!" She complained before going back to her food. She paused and counted the bacon. Her eyes slid up to the fox. It chewed twice before swallowing the two pieces of bacon it had stolen. Its tongue lolled out and it yawned smugly before curling up into a ball. "Can I get more bacon?" She asked.

"We've got a little more."

Twenty minutes, three more stolen pieces of bacon, and enough eggs and toast to feed ten people Taylor and Danny retired to the living room. Taylor curled up on the couch, her tails wrapping about her legs like a large fluffy blanket. It was rather cozy. The fox stole the foot stool while he father sat down beside Taylor. She leaned against him and he wrapped an arm about her shoulder.

"How long was I gone?" She asked once they were settled.

"You were gone for two days. I called the police when you didn't come home." He said quietly, "They… they found your locker."

Taylor winced. "Some bullies decided I looked small enough to fit and shoved me in. An end of year prank." There was no way she was telling her dad about who had actually done so. "I'd have been out just if it wasn't for that janitor leaving me in there." Stupid cowardly old bastard. Leaving someone locked in their own locker just because of a stupid prank someone else had done? She scowled, baring teeth as she did.

"They found out about the janitor." Her father said, "He's in quite a bit of trouble as far as I understand it."

"Good."

"They also found that your locker had been forced open from the inside. Then slammed shut hard enough to break steel." Danny continued, "They called the PRT."

"Oh." The Parahuman Response Team was the federal organization responsible for handling all crises involving parahumans. Whether it was as minor as someone with the power to create bubbles from nothing or a murderer who could levitate a car it fell under their responsibility. The moment parahuman involvement was hinted at the police were required to call them in.

The PRT was partnered with the Protectorate, a government sponsored team of Parahumans who operated jointly with the all normal agents of the PRT. Brockton Bay played host to the Protectorate East North-East team, or ENE for short. They were responsible, as Taylor understood it, for the protection of Brockton Bay and a large part of New England.

"They had a team here last night. It was their paramedic that said you just needed sleep." He said with a sigh.

Then they knew she had powers. Even just looking like she did was enough to fall under their jurisdiction. She shifted nervously and hugged a tail to her chest. The fluffy appendage was comforting, like a teddy bear. Her father hugged her tighter.

"Relax. You aren't in trouble." He said quietly, "They've got a team around the house for the moment. Just in case of more trouble. I let them know you woke up while you were in the shower. A representative of the PRT will be arriving in an hour with someone from the protectorate."

She sighed and leaned against her dad. An hour until she had to answer questions. What did she tell them? '_By the authority invested in me by Thor, Poseidon and Amaterasu I am a Goddess, bow down and worship me!'?_ She snorted at the thought. It was absurd and would only end with her in a nice padded cell eating horrible hospital food. Or the birdcage if they thought she was dangerous enough.

"Hmmm?" Her dad prodded her. "So, how does getting stuck in a locker lead to…" He waved at her then the fox. It continued to watch them passively, but preened for a moment when Danny gestured to it.

Taylor sighed. "Well, it started with me kicking open my locker after the Janitor left me locked inside…" She said, launching into a very abbreviated description of her two day trip. She made sure to leave out the whole 'god' thing. He didn't need to know that. Hell, she didn't know what it meant. When she finished ten minutes later her father was staring at her with an expression she was having a hard time recognizing.

"You ate the peach, because of that." He looked to the fox who yipped.

"Yes?" She said tentatively. It hadn't been the smartest thing she'd ever done that was for sure. Right up there with taking her mother's flute to school. "In my defense I was frustrated from climbing a mountain for two days. I… really wanted there to be a point to the whole thing…" She sighed.

Danny echoed her before pulling her into a hug. "Just- don't do anything that foolish again. If I lost you to- I just…"

She hugged him back. Their lives hadn't been the same since her mother died, neither talked much anymore, but the thought of losing her father as well was… "I'm sorry." She whispered. They stayed that way quietly hugging one another for a few minutes before her father released her and she slowed pulled back as well.

"So…" He paused, then looked at the fox. "That leads to the question of why your guide there is here."

"Maybe it's part of my powers?" She offered. Honestly as far as powers went having pet fox that stole your bacon was far from the worst.

"Or," a third smooth asian accented voice said, "You could ask the fox."

Both of them turned to look at the fox. It smiled smugly at them. "Hello~ Magical Spirit Guide Inari-Chan~ Reporting as needed Desu~!" She saluted.

Taylor stared for a long moment at the talking fox before turning to Danny. "How old was the Bacon?" She asked.

"Kurt brought it over yesterday." He replied absentmindedly. "It should have been fine. Maybe it was the apple juice."

The fox dropped its salute and sighed. "You are not crazy. I, the great and glorious Inari-Chan, am here to explain everything." It paused. "Also the food was delicious. Can I have some more? Especially the apple juice."

"No." Taylor said at the same time her dad said, "Maybe."

She glanced at him. "Dad." She complained.

"Depends on what she has to say." He replied, looking pointedly at the fox.

'Inari' grinned. "How about that your daughter left a few things out." She said.

Her dad turned to look at her as she realized what the fox was saying. "Don't." She said forcefully.

The fox just smirked. "What? You're more than one of these mortals playing with cursed power." It did.

"Taylor, what is it talking about?" Her dad asked. He frowned at Inari. "And why is she saying mortals?"

"I-" What did she say? What could she say that wouldn't sound like she'd lost her mind?

"Just tell him." She glared at the fox, who was still smirking at her. "Seriously?" Inari sighed. "Fine I'll do it."

"Why can't you stay quiet like on the mountain?" She ground out.

"Because if you can't trust your father then who can you trust?"

Taylor stopped, her next angry remark on her lips died before it could be properly vocalized. It was a simple question. No, not a question. It was a statement. Family and trust. This was her dad, the only person she could call family left in the entire world and yet…

When had she stopped trusting him?

"Taylor?" Her dad asked gently, resting a hand on her arm.

She could feel her ears flattened against the top of her head. It was easy to know. She'd complained to herself about how lifeless he was for years now. Ever since her mother died. "I left a few things out." She admitted quietly.

He wrapped an arm around her. "I gathered." He said, "But what did you leave out?" He didn't say it, but she could almost feel him asking, 'and why didn't you trust me with it?'

"Because you'll think I'm crazy." She said, answering the unsaid question instead.

"We're sitting here." Danny said, waving at the room. "You have a bunch of very pretty fox tails." She blushed at her dad's compliment in spite of herself. "And we've just discovered that the fox that has been hanging around all day talks. At this point I'm fairly open to ideas."

She snorted and looked away. "Get on with it." Inari said from her seat on the footstool. "Booooo. More admissions, less stalling."

"Just… just be quiet." Taylor groaned before sighing. "I left out a bit between when I bit into the peach and when I got home." She admitted before telling Danny everything she had left out.

"Poseidon? Thor?" He repeated back to her.

She nodded. "And Amaterasu. I'm not sure where she's from, but I'm guessing mythology somewhere?" She said.

"Shinto, from Japan." Inari interjected. "Amaterasu was the Goddess of the Sun and ruler of the heavens."

"Gods." Danny repeated.

Taylor sighed. "Probably just a bunch of ancient parahumans who thought they were gods without knowing better." She said. No one believed in the classical gods these days. There was a reason they were 'classic'.

Inari scoffed. "A God and Parahuman are very different things." She said, sitting up.

"Oh really?" Taylor asked challenging the fox with a frown.

"I know, because I was a Shinto Goddess before." Inari said before coughing daintily into a paw and waving it in the air. "Now, sit back, relax, and let your Magical Spirit Guide Inari-Chan explain everything."

Taylor frowned, but leaned back against her father who wrapped an arm around her. "Let's hear your explanation for this then." He said. He sounded worried to Taylor. More worried than he had in a long while.

Inari made a noise that sounded like she was clearing her throat, an odd sound to hear from a fox. "The difference between a Parahuman and a God is at its most basic one of internal versus external power. The power of a god is born from their nature and informed by the perceptions of others and themselves." She said. "Their powers can be broken down into those general and domain. Increased durability, strength, speed, intelligence. All gods have these to differing degrees and can increase most of them through time and effort. Magic also falls under here, but not all gods pursue the mystical arts so we'll cover that later."

"Now, domain refers to that which defines a god's personal powers. Things like Zeus and Thor being Gods of Thunder. Both summon lightning and have influence over the sky. Poseidon, who was there as well, is god of the seas and naturally has a great deal of control over both them and anything that can affect them. Storms over the ocean for example. Amaterasu is the Goddess of the sun and if you recall even her ethereal echo glowed like the sun." Taylor nodded.

"She was hard to look at, but the light was so warm and comforting." She admitted.

"Exactly. Now, with Zeus and Thor both are Gods of Thunder, but if you look back at their legends this manifests itself fairly differently. This is because as I said before their powers are informed by their perceptions, and those of others. Others being the culture in which the God originated. Some of this is psychosomatic, personal perceived limitations of a concept. The perceptions of others, however, tend to be more physical in its presence. I, as an example, was the Goddess of Foxes. Part of the reason I shaped this fragment of me as I did. It was one of the earliest Domains of mine that I discovered. Now, being Goddess of Foxes this led to me commanding Foxes and many of my servants were thus Foxes. On the other hand Foxes have a reputation in Japan as tricksters and this shaped how my power manifested. I could shapeshift, taking whatever form I desired."

She paused. "With me so far?" They nodded. Taylor continued frowning. It was interesting, but she was waiting to see how this was different than just any other parahuman. "Good. Well, Domains can be gifted. I set aside some of my own, including my domain of Foxes, and gave them to you last night at the peach tree."

"What?" Taylor flinched as her father jerked forward suddenly.

Inari's ears laid back. "I'll explain later. This is a really detailed subject and we've only got…" She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Twenty minutes before your PRT is supposed to arrive. I'd like to get through this before they get here."

"Dad." Taylor said, taking her turn to calm him. He grumbled, but sat back. She was worried as well. Hadn't there been a cape that had the ability to give temporary powers a while back? Only he'd been sent to the birdcage after it had been discovered it was addictive and he'd been using it to influence those he had gifted.

"Right, where was I… I gave you my Domains of Foxes, Industry, Agriculture, and Fertility." Inari smirked at the last one.

"Excuse me?" It was Taylor's turn to glare at the Fox.

She seemed unconcerned as she did that wiggle thing again. "I'm sure you'll find a use for it somewhere." Taylor hadn't known that Foxes could waggle their brows before, now she could say that yes they could and did.

"Moving on." Her dad said with a tight voice.

"Yes, yes. Let's ignore the implications of the last three and focus on the first." Inari said, still smirking. "Foxes. I've already said how my people's perception of Foxes coloured my ability to interact with that Domain. With you it has had something of a more obvious effect." She gestured at Taylor's tense and twitching tails. "Something about modern perceptions has caused you to have a more permanent sign of your divine status as Goddess of Foxes. What else this might have done I have no idea. Time and experimentation will be your friend. At the same time if you recall back in the Peach Garden you showed off some lightning. So you probably have some form of Thunder as a domain."

Inari stretched. "And that is the basics of where a God's powers come from and how they are shaped. Very basic, we can cover more later when we have time. Now, Parahumans. Mhmm, mhm mhm. Parahumans. Mortals playing with power that they don't understand and many never asked for."

"Remember how I said internal vs. external?" The Fox spirit asked. They both nodded. "Excellent. Well, as I've shown a God's power comes from within, growing as they age, experiment, and practice. A Parahuman's power does none of these things because it isn't their power. A parahuman is a conduit for extra-dimensional entities perceive this realm and they grant some form of power to those they connect with. Why? Well I have no idea why the modern ones act like this, but back during our last war, the one whose battlefield you walked through, the Entity we were fighting granted our enemies powers in exchange for acting as it's weapons."

She paused as they digested that. "That Entity failed. It can't provide powers to anyone on Earth, any Earths, because it can't get close enough to make such a connection. Not anymore."

"So where do modern parahumans come from? If they aren't gods, and they aren't natural…" Taylor trailed off. She still wasn't convinced, but… Something about it… Felt right? It was an odd feeling that seemed to tell her she could trust what this strange fox was saying.

"That is connected to why I'm here and you aren't just blundering around blind like every other new generation of Gods." Inari said.

"Why would they be wandering around blind?" Danny asked.

Inari sighed. "Because somewhere along the way leaving cryptic messages to the next generation became the 'thing' gods were supposed to do. Make cryptic references, a little encouragement, just tell them to follow their heart. Sound familiar?" She asked Taylor.

She nodded. That sounded exactly like what the three at the Peach Garden had told her. "Yeah." She admitted, "It does." And by the Gods it had sounded completely useless.

"Yeah, thing is normally there's a bit of a gap between one world ending crises and the next. A few centuries between extraterrestrial incursions. Now, Natural Gods, that is those who are born from mortals, crop up every hundred years or so. Gives them at least a hundred years to figure out what happened, how their powers work and all that jazz." Inari rubbed her cheek with the back of a paw. "That is how things normally go. Get killed, next generation, training montage, beat up next threat, rinse and repeat. This time the next threat showed up seventy years later. And not just one, but two."

"Hold on a second." Taylor's dad held up a hand. "How do you know this? According to you and Taylor this war happened a hundred years ago. How do you know what has been going on?" And that was the thing that Taylor hadn't been able to put a finger on.

"Seeing the future is well within the abilities of the gods. Especially those whose domains are connected to fate, time, or the future." Inari replied.

"Precognition." Taylor said.

"That. Also while I may be just a spirit now, I can still operate the many great machines we left behind. Including those designed to watch for such threats. Two more like the entity we defeated were foreseen to approach the planet. One had a collision with the previous entity we had encountered and then crashed and died on another Earth. I have no idea where the other one is or what it is doing. Unfortunately maintenance requirements became a bit more than a lesser spirit with paws like myself could maintain alone." Inari pouted and sighed. "Still, these parahumans are demonstrating powers like those from the war. This entity seems to pick those who are possessed by great despair and grant to them a power appropriate for the horrific situation they're in. At least from what I can gather. I don't know if some also make deals with it like with the other one, but for all I know this was what the other entity had intended to do after getting rid of us."

"I see…" Inari felt like she was telling the truth to Taylor. Maybe it was the emotion in her voice. Maybe the way she held herself. As much as that applied to a Fox. Danny stood up. "Dad?" Taylor asked.

He ran a hand hand through his frazzled dark hair. "Give me a second." He said, pulling off his glasses so he could rub a hand across his face. "Assuming you aren't taking us for a ride, what now?" He asked after a minute of silent rumination.

"Now I help prep your daughter to save the world." Inari said, "That's why I went behind the old fogies backs and set up this extra contingency."

Save the world? Taylor blinked and sank into the couch. Her? From… Some great extraterrestrial threat? A threat that was somehow behind every Hero and Villain in the world? "I don't… I got locked in my locker by a couple of bullies. How can I save the world?" She asked.

"Taylor..." He dad turned to face her with an anxious expression.

Inari snickered. "By getting stronger. No God starts out as some all power unstoppable warrior. Sure a lot of them spread stories that make it seem that way, but they didn't. I worked my way from a mere demi-goddess until I was, and technically am if you ignore my current state, the most popular God or Goddess in Japan." She rolled over, paws pointed at the ceiling. "I'm not saying you need to go out there, hunt down the bad guy and save the world like you are. You'll need time to learn and grow before you can do that. That's why I left this fragment of me behind. You may not have the traditional century to figure things out, but between the two of us we should be able to get you up to speed in a couple years."

"Still…" Taylor licked her lips. "One of these things fought every god that was alive at once and… he basically won. They all died."

Inari snorted. "We died because we had too many enemies to fight. Rogue gods, creatures that hated us for one reason or another, mortals that just wanted to blame us for one thing or another. We had enough enemies. All it had to do was give them the power and point them at us. We didn't realize what we were fighting until we were already pushed back. The beast itself isn't that tough, but many of its minions were able to throw down with us even without its gifts. With them?" She sighed. "The good news is that I don't believe this one has an army. And I'm sure there are more than a few parahumans who might be willing to help as well."

"Excuse me? They can do that?" Danny asked. Taylor nodded. It seemed ridiculous. Who gave away a power that could be used against them?

"We learned that a gifted power stays until death. Not even that entity could take them away without killing the user first. So, yeah. The Heroes will probably want to help if they learn of it. Though I wouldn't go telling them until you can actually prove it. I mean, extra dimensional aliens granting powers to people just because? It sounds like bad science fiction." Inari laughed.

"And Gods sound so much more real?" Danny asked as he sank back into his chair, glasses held in one hand.

"There's one in this room." Inari said, looking Taylor in the eye.

Was there? She frowned at the fox as she ran one hand through the long hair of her tails. It was calming. This… Why did Inari sound like she was telling the truth?

Because part of her really wanted this to be true. To be something more than just… just Taylor Hebert. Too tall, too thin, too ugly Taylor Hebert. Not being just that Taylor anymore, what would she give for that?

The doorbell ended any further introspection. Danny sighed and stood up, heading for the door and leaving the two of them alone. Inari hopped off her footstool and climbed up on the couch next to Taylor.

"So." The former Goddess said with a wide foxy grin, "You and me. We're going to save the world."

"Yeah." Taylor replied weakly, "Let's do that."


	3. Chapter 3

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A Worm Fanfic

The Taste of Peaches

By: Grounders10

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3

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When her dad returned he was accompanied by a pair of people she had seen before. On the news only though, never in person. The first was a woman wearing a dark-grey and white jumpsuit with neon blue lines running across it like wires on a circuit board. On her head was a helm that continued the blue line pattern. A thick blue visor obscured the top half of her face. She was Battery, one of the local Protectorate Heroes.

Beside her was another hero, a much younger blonde haired girl in green body armour and a green skirt with wavy lines that, when moving, almost made her eyes water. She wore a green visor that obscured the top half of her face. She had to be Vista, currently the only girl on the local Wards team, and about three years younger than Taylor.

When they turned the corner into the kitchen from the entrance way Vista spotted her and space twisted, crunching the distance between them into nothing. "Ohmygod,youdohavefoxearsandtails." Taylor blinked at the sudden deluge of words from the young hero as she appeared inches from her face. In her lap, Inari made a funny chuffing noise. Strangled laughter probably.

Parsing the barrage of words she said, "Erm, I do? I mean yes I do." She flushed red in embarrassment, her ears going flat, drawing an undignified gasping not-squee from the younger girl.

"Vista, enough." Battery said as she crossed the room. The younger hero stiffened, blushed, and stepped back three feet with a distortion of space-time that created a weird sensation to Taylor. Like all the hairs on her arms had stood straight up at a ninety-degree angle only didn't.

"Sorry." She said, blushing. Taylor sighed. Not five seconds and she'd already made a bad impression.

"Sorry about that." Battery said, stopping beside Vista. "I'm Battery of the Protectorate, this is Vista of the Wards. We are here to ask a few questions and see what we can do to help you adjust." Taylor's right ear twitched. She sounded rather sincere and something told her that the hero was being honest. Huh, someone who actually cared? Well, maybe. Trusting vague feelings about people you just met had bitten her in the ass at Winslow a couple of times already.

"Nice to meet you." Taylor said, giving an awkward wave to the two heroes. Vague feelings or not there was no reason to be rude.

"I was starting to wonder if you were coming." Her dad said as he took a seat in his recliner.

"Unfortunately unless it's an emergency even Heroes can get stuck in traffic." Battery said, her dad chuckled. She gestured to the only remaining seats in the room, the love seat. "May we?" She asked.

"Please, take a seat." He said, also making a gesture to the loveseat.

The two heroes took their seats. Vista looked somewhere between mortified and excited, with the occasional bounce in her seat as though she wanted to leap across the room and take another close look at Taylor and her new appendages. Each little bounce was quickly stilled as she tried, and failed, to appear professional. It was rather adorable in Taylor's opinion.

Battery was much calmer, obviously far more used to these sorts of meetings than the ward beside her. Or at least more able to control herself.

"So," Battery began, "How are you feeling today Taylor?"

Her right ear twitched. "A bit tired, but alright I guess." She said. Walking for two days, including at least a day up a mountain, was exhausting; though she wasn't feeling as tired as she might have expected even after the rest.

"Wonderful." Battery smiled genuinely. "Now, it's fairly obvious that whatever you experienced over the last few days was horrible to say the least." More boring and tedious really, Taylor thought. "However, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask what happened. Anything you can share."

Taylor sighed. Here she went again. "Not much to tell really?" She shrugged, "I got locked in my locker at the end of friday classes."

"We found the locker." Battery said, "Well the police found the locker. It had been nearly kicked off its hinges and then slammed shut hard enough to jam the corners through the locker next to it."

She shrugged. "That was me, though not the closing part. The door did that to itself." She said.

"Itself? An inanimate steel door slammed itself shut hard enough to wedge itself into the neighbouring locker?" Battery asked.

Taylor sighed. "Maybe I should start from the beginning." She said. She'd share what she had with her dad, the first time anyway.

"Please."

It took an hour and a half. An hour filled with questions, clarifications, and her dad bringing drinks and snacks to them, twice, before she finished. She left out the little bit about being a Goddess again, despite the annoyed noises that Inari was making. She was not going to claim Divinity to the Protectorate. Parahumans who thought they were gods was supposed to be one of the things they fought against.

"Normally we recommend not eating the strange, possibly tinker-tech fruit might run into." Battery said after a moment of jotting down the information in a small notebook she brought with her. "But, I can't say I've ever heard of a trigger event quite like yours."

"Trigger event?" Her dad asked.

Battery hesitated for a moment. "Trigger events are not normally talked about. They're the moment when someone gets powers. It is not normally a pleasant moment to recall. Powers don't awaken without something bad happening first." She said, "Though yours would appear to be an unusually calm trigger all things considered."

Inari snorted. "Of course you haven't. She's a Goddess not a Parahuman." There was silence for a moment in the room and both Taylor and her dad turned annoyed looks to the fox in their midst. For her part Inari seemed to be oblivious. "The Gods don't have to wait to be consumed by despair before their powers can be flexed."

Taylor groaned and leaned back against the couch, wrapping herself in her tails as she did so. This was not going to help things. God, she did not want people thinking she was crazy on top of everything else… Or Narcissistic, which was technically being crazy as well.

"Did that Fox just talk?" Vista finally asked.

"Yes it did." Battery frowned. Oh dear.

"She's been talking like this since she stole my bacon from my plate this morning." Taylor groaned. Downplay the fox. Pretend the fox was crazy. Just make sure they didn't think _she_ was crazy. Not getting pre-emptively locked up just to be safe was nice.

"You weren't eating it." The oblivious fox said.

"I looked away for two seconds!" She snapped, looking down at the fox with a growl.

"Exactly~ You weren't giving your heavenly food the attention it deserves~" She could hear the smug from the fox.

"Two. Seconds." She growled.

Inari patted her on the thigh. "Don't worry, Magical Spirit Guide Inari-Chan~ is here to help advise you~" With a very deliberate act she lifted up several of her tails and brought them down on the fox, burying it in fluff. Inari poked her head out of pile a moment later. "Rude." She paused for a moment and gave the fluff around her a push with her paw. "And I think this is already fluffier than mine used to be." She flopped across two of the tails. "Ooooh, this is comfy."

Her eyebrow was not twitching with annoyance as she turned back to the giggling Vista and desperately trying, but failing, to hide her amusement Battery. "This is the fox I followed up the mountain. She was here when I woke up." She sighed, her cheeks turning bright red with embarrassment. "And no, I have no control over what comes out of her mouth."

"I speak only the truth! I shall not be silenced!" Inari declared without lifting her head from the pillow she had made of Taylor's tails. "All hail her divinity, Goddess of Foxes Taylor Hebert." Another tail was lifted up and dropped across Inari's head, muffling further words from the troublesome fox.

"I- I see." Battery said, stifling her laughter as she made a couple more notes. "Well, it's not unheard of for master's to have semi-controllable projections, though it has been a while since I heard of one… Certainly not one this outspoken however." She closed her notebook and pocketed it in a pouch. "Well then, thank you for your testimony Taylor. Mr. Hebert, there are a few things I would like to talk to you about in private. Vista can keep your daughter company while we talk. If that's alright with you Taylor?"

Taylor nodded, her cheeks still burning with embarrassment. "Sure." What else could she say?

"If you're sure Taylor." Her dad sighed and stood. "This way, we can talk in the office." Her dad led Battery out of the room, leaving her with the enthusiastic and still giggling Vista.

Taylor stayed silent, playing with one of her tails with her hands, while Vista slowly stopped giggling to herself. "S-sorry." The younger girl said after a few minutes. "I shouldn't have laughed."

Taylor's right ear twitched. "I- It's fine. Really." Arguing with a talking fox that was claiming she was a goddess was ridiculous.

"So… Goddess?" Vista asked carefully.

A groan slipped through Taylor's lips. She sent a glare towards 'her' fox. "She's been trying to sell me on that since breakfast." She said.

"You know it's true," Inari said, sticking a head out from under Taylor's tail. She gazed up at Vista with a soulful expression. "Know the truth~ I, Magical Spirit Guide Inari-Chan~ speak only truths."

"You won't even admit you stole my bacon! And eggs!" Taylor snarked as she kept one eye on the young hero.

"You keep mentioning that, but it was also apple juice. Very nice apple juice." Inari rolled over and stared up at the unimpressed expression Taylor was wearing.

Vista's snickers drew a groan from the black-haired fox-goddess. "So, you're powers are that you have a fox?" She asked, trying to stifle a snicker.

"I guess?" Taylor sighed. Her ears twitched in irritation and her tails shifted.

"Not just that. I saw lightning earlier!" Inari said, patting the tails she was partly buried amongst. "Little snaps of lightning jumping between these beautiful fluffy clouds."

Taylor paused. Had there been? Yes… On the mountain when she'd first realized she had tails there had been small snaps of electricity jumping between them. "I thought that was just the peach." She said with a frown.

Inari shook her head. "All you. See~ This is why you need the guidance of your Magical Spirit Guide Inari-Chan~ Desu~" The way the fox loved drawing out her words at times was starting to annoy Taylor. Like, really, really annoy her.

"So it knows more about your powers?" Vista asked before sighing. "Lucky. Most of us don't exactly get a user's manual. I mean somethings are instinctive, but not everything." The younger girl got up from her seat and walked over. "So, what are your plans now?" She asked.

She leaned against the armrest of the couch and sighed. "I'd say enjoy summer, but…" She waved a tail in the air. "Not exactly inconspicuous anymore." Vista nodded. It was public knowledge how valuable even seemingly useless capes were often treated as by gangs. Sure most weren't exactly going to get kidnapped off the street to fight if their power was something like a talking fox, but with the tails and ears, she was… exotic, like a rare pet. Sure she still had the same too wide smile and all the shapeliness of a 2x4, but her nine white-tipped black tails were exotic in and of themselves.

"Well, you could join the wards," Vista suggested. She must have seen Taylor roll her eyes since she continued, "Hang on. Hear me out."

Taylor waved her on with a gesture. Joining the wards was an option that just screamed more drama to her, but...

"Look, the wards is meant to help with things like this." Vista gestured vaguely at all of Taylor.

"Things like me?" Taylor snarked.

"Yes, no- You aren't a thing. I mean, ugh…" She sighed. "Things like being in danger because of your powers. You've apparently got a talking user's manual, but back at the rig, they have rooms that are meant for testing and training powers. You might not have the room here, and you definitely don't have the tools regardless of what it is you can do."

That… was a good point. She spared a glance at her tails. If that lightning had been created by her, then well… what was she going to do? Shoot the walls of their basement? Go outside and down to the docks and try zapping wrecks from the shoreline until she was jumped by gang members?

"And she'd have companions to help watch over her, right?" Inari asked, looking up at Vista.

"Of course. That's kinda the point. Meeting people who can relate with what you're going through. People who can help you." Vista said.

Taylor sighed and toyed with her tails. The wards could offer her resources to learning her powers, but… people. She had been let down by people a lot over the last year. People, teenagers, meant pointless melodrama, meant-

"Hey." She looked down at Inari. The Fox smiled gently up at her. "Give it a shot. Even Gods need companions."

She ignored Vista's mutter of "Again with the god thing." and considered that. Thor and Poseidon were both merely gods amongst much larger pantheons. Even though Poseidon basically ruled the seas himself he did have those who served him as well. Friends, allies. She didn't know as much about Norse Mythology but she would bet Thor had people to turn to as well.

But… "I'll think about it." She said eventually. She would think about it, even talk to her dad about it. She'd bet that her dad was getting a much more in depth pitch from Battery.

"It'd really be nice to have another girl onboard." Vista admitted. Space crunched and she shifted the footstool so that she was sitting a couple feet from taylor.

Taylor tilted her head. "Wasn't there another girl?" She asked. There had been someone announced a few months ago. What was her name? Trill?

Vista snorted. "For like two months, then she transferred to Pittsburgh when her family moved." She sighed. "Girls never seem to stick around here. Here for a few months, then they graduate or move. Just me and a bunch of immature annoying boys."

Taylor couldn't help it, she laughed at Vista's tone of resigned despair. One of her tails came up and covered her mouth as she tried, unsuccessfully, to stifle the laughter. "That bad?" She asked after getting her breath back.

Vista giggled. "Well, to give you an idea Clockblocker…" The next hour passed with Vista sharing stories of things that had happened in the wards. Inari would pipe up occasionally with some comment or other, but it was mostly Vista and Taylor. At the end of that hour Battery and Danny came back into the room and the two Heroes left.

Vista's bye had hardly faded when Danny sat down in his recliner heavily. "Well, that was…" He breathed out heavily, one hand rubbing his forehead. "Did Vista pitch the wards at you as well?" He asked.

"Yep." Taylor picked Inari up from where she was still cuddling amongst her tails.

"Oi!" The fox protested grumpily, but quieted as Taylor lay down on her side before hugging the fox in her arms.

"Battery talked a lot about the benefits, but some of the requirements. We'd be signing away a lot of control at the same time." He sighed.

"Like?" Taylor prompted.

"Papers are in the kitchen. We can go over them later. Right now I just want to relax. How does pizza sound for supper?" He asked.

"Fine… With pineapple?" She prodded. Her dad normally 'forgot' to get pineapple when he ordered.

"I'll order two then." He said, leaning back in his chair.

Inari slipped out from Taylor's grip and hopped off the couch onto the footstool. "What kind of things were they asking for control of?" She asked.

Danny sighed. "Things like control over looks, rights to any name she might take while with them. The stack of papers in the kitchen is two inches thick. We can look it over together later." He said.

"Well, assuming nothing is really objectionable I think you should accept." Inari said, stretching like a cat.

"Because even a Goddess needs companions?" Taylor asked as she adjusted the throw pillow under her head. One of her tails swept up to replace the escaped fox in her grasp.

"Exactly~" Inari pointed at her. The fox was grinning. "You're young for a Goddess. It'll take time for you to learn your powers and grow in strength. What you need right now is people to rely on, companions to watch your back in the days ahead."

Taylor grunted non-committedly and hugged her tail harder. It still meant she'd have to deal with other people her age… though a few of the wards did look kinda cute… She hummed thoughtfully to herself.

Her dad, probably unaware of the direction her thoughts had taken, sighed. "That is what the Wards is for. That and training. Which you need. God, you can't just hide your tails and pretend not to have powers can you?" He asked.

Taylor blinked and considered it. "I… don't know?" She said slowly, looking down at the tail in her grip. She tried to imagine it vanishing and just wound up staring at the white tip for a long moment. Nothing. "I have no idea." She said finally as Inari snickered.

"We'll talk practice later then." Inari said before jumping back onto the couch and curling up within the mass of Taylor's tails. "For now, a nap sounds good."

Taylor yawned at that. Yeah, she still felt a bit tired from the days before. More sleep would be great. She closed her eyes and tried to drift off as her dad turned on the TV. She cracked an eye open. "Daaaad…" She whined.

"You do have a bed." He pointed out.

Taylor considered that for a moment. She rejected that option. It would have meant moving and she was comfy. Instead, she closed her eyes again and tried to tune out whatever TV show her dad had turned on. Something about mutant crocodile hunting in Australia. In five minutes she was out cold.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The office of the Director of the PRT ENE was spartan. No awards or pictures hung from the walls. There were no decorations on the desk, or potted plants in the corners. The room was like its owner, dedicated solely to the task at hand. Seated behind the office's desk was Director Emily Piggot. She was a short obesely overweight woman with short bleached blonde hair.

Her lips were pursed as she examined the notes written down in the pad on the desk. "So," She began, directing her words to Battery who was seated across from her. "A talking Fox projection."

"Yes Director." The heroine nodded.

The other woman frowned down at her notes. "That is telling her she's a goddess."

"Yes Director."

Director Piggot sighed. She dropped the notepad on her desk. The thunk of paper on wood reverberated in the quiet office. "Well that is a wonderful mess. And she might have additional powers as well?"

Battery nodded. "Yes, Vista said the fox had mentioned electricity from Taylor's tails." She said. And hadn't that been a bit of a surprise on the way back from the Hebert's home. "However, she doesn't seem to be aware of them herself if she does have them."

Piggot grunted. "A possible trump them. A master/changer at the minimum." She flipped to the next page of the notepad. "And that thing calls her a Goddess. Wonderful, just what we need. A trump/master with a god complex."

"With respect Director," Battery said, "Neither I nor Vista saw any sign she believed the claims of the fox. If anything she seemed annoyed by them." And very uncomfortable, with the fox and them.

"It's not her current thoughts on the matter I'm worried about." The Director replied before turning to the other two people in the room. "Armsmaster, Glenn, your thoughts?"

Armsmaster was Battery's boss, the head of the Protectorate East-North East, and a tinker of exceptional skill and talent. He was standing off to the side, refusing to sit due to the weight of the blue power armour he wore whenever he was on duty. His signature halberd was leaning against his shoulder.

Armsmaster cleared his throat. "She is potentially a potent asset, but without more information there is no way to tell how much of one. On the low end we're looking at a master with a fox shaped projection and maybe tasers for tails. On the high end, well it's far too soon to say." He said, "The God issue is worrisome, but not unmanageable. Therapy and socializing can hopefully alleviate the dangers."

"Which is part of the reason for the wards program in the first place." The last person in the room said. Glenn Chambers was, to Battery's eyes, a living contradiction. The Head of Image for the entire PRT, he was responsible for managing the images of every single Protectorate Hero and Ward in the country. It as a part he did not look even remotely qualified for. Nearly as obese as the Director his clothes were, everytime Battery had seen him, wrinkled and ill-fitting. His glasses were these ugly rectangular frames that only served to make him look more like he was squinting. Atop everything was his hair. He didn't have a mohawk technically, but the way he gelled his hair certainly suggested the shape of one. It was disgusting how he could be so good at managing others, yet never seemed to spend a second thinking about how he looked.

The obese man picked a piece of paper from the folder open in his lap and held it up. It was a picture of Taylor taken from Battery's bodycam and blown up to size. "This here," He waved it, "is probably the most photogenic cape I've seen in years. Getting her on board would be a potentially amazing PR windfall. I can already think of several potential costumes for her. Battery, is she interested?"

"Her father was." She replied, "A bit worried about some of the clauses in the papers though."

"You did make sure to point out that nearly all-" Glenn started.

"All the points were negotiable. Yes I did. Not the first time I've done this." Battery finished.

"Of course." Glenn nodded, "And Taylor herself?"

Battery frowned. "Vista thinks she made a decent impression, but she's shy. Nervous. Like I said earlier, she has trust issues." That much had been clear almost from the beginning. The nervous shifting, flattened ears, and the way she had gone from cheerfully talking with Vista at the end to shutting up the moment she saw Battery and her father. It had hurt in a way, but no natural parahuman came without issues. It was just the nature of powers.

"Well, I say let's try and make this as sweet a deal as possible." Glenn said, "She's getting bullied right? I know her situation with no secret identity makes things awkward, but we should still be able to manage that local school? What was it.. Uuuh…"

"Arcadia." Piggot said.

He pointed the photo in his hand at the Director like a baton. "That's it. They deal with New Wave all the time, a Ward shouldn't be an issue."

"Should they inquire about the Wards then we can see about talking to Arcadia about the possibility." Piggot said, as she tapped her pen against the desk. "Anything else?" The three shook their heads, their replies all along the lines of no. "Very well. Battery, write up your report for tomorrow. Make sure to include everything, even Vista's speculations. Glenn any ideas you have you run by me first. Glenn, Battery, dismissed. Armsmaster, stay. We need to have a talk about why I'm receiving reports of you being involved in a running battle through a public bathhouse."

Departing an unwelcome scene in a hurry was, in Battery's opinion, one of the few useful lessons she had picked up from her husband. It was a skill she put to excellent use as she not-quite-jogged her way out of the office.


	4. Chapter 4

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A Worm Fanfic

The Taste of Peaches

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

4

-0-0-0-0-0-

The kitchen was silent except for the rustling of papers. Finally, Taylor groaned and let the papers fall to the tabletop before rubbing her forehead with two fingers. "This makes my head hurt." She groaned.

Her father chuckled as he scribbled something on a notepad. "I think we're going to need to get an opinion from an actual lawyer." He said, setting aside the notepad. "I don't like some of the phrasing in this."

"I can't even tell what most of it means." Taylor said, leaning against the back of the chair. Well, it was the back of the chair but due to her many tails she was sitting sideways making it more the 'left side' of the chair.

It was late, very late, despite them having started going over the stack of papers right after dinner, a nice spaghetti carbonara Danny had whipped up while she had been sleeping. There was simply too much to read. Inari had originally tried to help, but had eventually gotten very bored and fallen asleep on one of the other chairs, curled up in a little ball of fluff.

Danny tapped the pen against the table, then glanced at the clock on the wall. He sighed. "I think it's getting late. I'll ask Alan tomorrow if he can recommend someone with experience in this sort of parahuman law.."

Taylor frowned, then nodded. Alan Barnes might have been the father of Emma, but whatever had gotten into Emma hadn't gotten into her father, at least not yet. She glanced up at the clock on the wall and winced. She might have been fairly awake, but it was now approaching one o'clock in the morning. She wasn't feeling tired, between sleeping for twelve hours and spending most of the afternoon napping she felt fairly awake.

"Bed I think." Her dad said as he took back the papers Taylor had been going over.

"But-" She trailed off at the look he gave her. The forceful, yet worried, look in his eyes was something she hadn't seen in years. "Okay." She sighed.

Her dad smiled. "Try and get to sleep, you had a long couple of days." He said before glancing at the fox on the chair. "And take her up with you."

Taylor stood up, her tails brushing against the wall as she did, and walked around the table to Inari. The former-goddess/strange fox mumbled something about rabbits as she gathered her up. Her dad pulled her into a hug as she headed for the stairs.

"Sleep well." He mumbled through her hair.

She smiled and hugged him with a couple of tails since her arms were full. "I'll try. Not feeling too tired." She said before he let her go and climbed the stairs. Each step seemed to jolt the fox in her arms and shortly the talking animal was looking up at her groggily as she crested the staircase.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh." Inari smacked her lips and licked her nose as she yawned. "Oh, that was a good nap. So, what're we doing?"

"Going to bed."

"But I just woke up."

Taylor rolled her eyes at the protest as she pushed open her room's door with a foot before tossing the fox across the room to her bed. She let out a surprised yelp, but somehow managed to keep from landing upside down or on her head.

"Oi!" Inari complained before yawning again and slowly tipping over to crash onto the clumped and wrinkly bedding. "Oh, this is soft.

Taylor peeled off her top and pants before rummaging through her dresser for her pyjamas. The clothes were quickly found and pulled on as she ignored the fox on her bed who was wiggling around in her blankets making odd noises. She sounded happy if nothing else, so Taylor tried to tune her out.

It was harder than she'd have liked to ignore a fox going, "So comfy." over and over again.

She paused as she caught sight of herself in the mirrored doors of her closet. She frowned at the ears and poked out of her hair. They had been standing relatively straight before, now they were lying flat. Probably in response to her mood. She could feel them twitch and move, but trying to control them has proven to be frustratingly difficult when she'd tried to do so in the mirror after her shower.

Her eyes dropped from her ears and hair, which seemed a bit glossier than normal but otherwise was the same, to her face. Her frown deepened. "Inari." She said, getting the Fox's attention.

"Hrm?"

"Why do I look like I've been airbrushed?" She asked, leaning in to take a closer look at her nose. While she had never had bad skin, she had had her fair, or unfair in her opinion, share of pimples and other incidents that had left their marks. Like that time with the stairs at the Barnes place. There should have been a small scar, nearly unnoticeable, along the bridge of her nose.

"What's airbrushing?" Came the confused response from her 'guide'.

"Airbrushing, photoshopped, whatever you call it." She snapped, practically putting her face against the glass. Her mouth was as wide as ever, but was it just her or did her lips seem a bit… fuller? She frowned at the mirror.

"What does photoshopped mean?" If anything the fox sounded even more confused.

Taylor sighed. "Nevermind." She said, turning back to her bed. She considered grabbing a book from her shelf before just walking over to her bed and flopping down on the bed. Inari yelped as she dodged out of the way.

"Hey! Watch it!" Inari complained as Taylor rearranged her blankets, pulling them over herself. Her tails hung out of the blankets over the edge of the bed.

Taylor hummed and stifled a yawn that appeared from nowhere. She blinked sleepily, then yawned again. Beside her Inari grumbled and found a spot to curl up.

"Tomorrow." Inari said, getting what little attention Taylor had left.

"Hm?"

"Tomorrow, I'll teach you the basics of calling up your p-p-pooowers, oh this is comfy." Inari yawned.

Taylor didn't reply, she was already asleep. Inari snorted softly and rested her head on her own tail. Sleep sounded good, especially with how comfy the bed was.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Danny Hebert, yes that was his full and proper name, pulled his truck into the parking lot of the building where the law firm Benjamin & Baker Associates in Law had their offices. His old friend Alan Barnes had worked for them ever since he had graduated from university years before. The small parking lot had a few cars which made it easy for him to spot Alan's Mercedes parked halfway down. He pulled into an open spot closer to the door.

He turned off the engine and popped open the door. As he stepped out he grabbed the briefcase in the passenger seat before locking it and turning to the building. It was a fairly well maintained building just off-center of the downtown core. He paused by the entrance as a thought occurred and he dug into his coat pocket, pulling out a wrinkled roll of one dollar bills. Taking one he slipped the rest back into his pocket before walking into the building.

The building's foyer was well maintained, with green ferns in pots on either side of the door, and unlike some other places he had been to over the years he knew from experience that the elevator was in perfect working order. Not that he was going to use it. This wasn't the first time he'd been to see is friend at work. Taking the stairs beside the elevator was usually quicker.

He stepped out of the stairway into the second floor hallway a few moments later and strode passed the elevators to the office directly across from them. Gold lettering on the glass windows of the oak doors proudly proclaimed _Benjamin & Baker, Associates in Law since 1967_. Beneath them were their hours of operation, which he was only just within. Hopefully Alan would have some time right now to help and he wouldn't have to wait.

The doors were unlocked and he gently eased them open before stepping inside. As he glanced around it would appear luck was on his side today. The man he was looking for was behind the receptionist's desk discussing something with the pair of young women who manned the desk.

Alan glanced up as the door clicked shut. "Danny?" He said surprised, shutting the folder in his hands. "What are you doing here?"

Danny smiled and walked over to the desk. "Well," He sighed, "I could use some advice."

Alan snorted. "Not mine surely? My specialty isn't exactly applicable to you anymore." Danny spared a glance at the receptionist before simply holding out the dollar bill to his friend. Alan stared at it for a moment before slowly taking it. "Like that huh? I've got a few minutes before my nine o'clock gets here. My office."

The receptionist beside him glanced up. "Shall I hold any calls for you?" She asked.

"Only if we can afford it." Alan replied before ushering Danny down the hall to his office. As the oak door shut behind them Alan took a seat behind his desk and gestured to him to take the seat across.

"Jesus Danny, a nominal retainer? What's so important you feel the need to invoke attorney-client privilege?" His friend asked.

"Taylor's a cape." Danny replied softly.

Alan stared at him for a moment before running one hand across his face. "God… Danny I'm so sorry. I've heard of what it takes to get powers and… fuck. How is she?" He asked.

"Could be a lot worse." He replied, setting the briefcase on the table. "You know she was missing right?"

Alan nodded. "I asked Emma, said she hadn't seen her since lunch." He said.

"Someone locked her in her locker and the Janitor left her for dead. She triggered and just disappeared." Danny said, deliberately leaving out the long story his daughter had shared. It, especially the 'goddess' part, wasn't relevant. "Showed up night before last. Quite literally appeared out of thin air in the upstairs hallway before collapsing from exhaustion. She was fine after a good night's sleep. Spent most of yesterday napping though."

"Well that's good to hear." His friend sighed, "Still, I'd keep her identity quiet without this." He waved the one dollar bill in the air.

"The PRT stopped by. They made a Wards pitch." Danny told him, unlocking the briefcase and opening it. He spun it around to face his friend. "I've got a lot of experience with contracts, but I know nothing about parahumans or this stuff."

Alan raised an eyebrow as he leaned forward to look at the stack of paper within the briefcase. "That is a lot of paperwork. Even around here. Still, you're considering the Wards then? Dangerous job. Wouldn't let Emma do it myself."

Danny frowned. "I'm not exactly fond of the PRT either Alan. God knows they barely manage to do the minimum required. Last time we had to call them it took half an hour before their first responders showed. A half hour. Those merchants ran off before the PRT showed up. Five men in hospital…" He sighed. "I don't really have a choice in this." He dug into his pocket searching for something.

"Don't have a choice? Don't tell me Taylor is in legal trouble Danny." Alan groaned.

"She's not. Here." He pulled a digital camera from his pocket and handed it over. "Take a look at the most recent pictures." He'd snapped a few while Taylor was napping on the couch the day before. At the time it had been a spur of the moment thing, now it could help explain the issue at hand.

Alan powered on the device and navigated to the photos. He blinked dumbly before glancing up at him. "She has tails?"

"Nine foxtails." Danny said, "Two fox ears in place of her original ones. Doesn't need glasses anymore thankfully. I don't even want to imagine the price of the custom frames I'd have needed to pay for otherwise." He chuckled nervously.

Alan chuckled as he flicked through the pictures. "She's grown up since last summer. Looks more like Annette all the time." He said.

Danny smiled. "She does."

Alan finished flicking through the photos and passed the camera back. "I take it she can't hide those." He said.

Danny nodded. "Unfortunately no. Doesn't leave me with many options. She can't even leave the house right now. God, Alan what do you think the gangs would do if she was spotted out there?" He asked.

Alan winced. "I'd rather not think about it. I don't doubt you'd garner plenty of attention from both the E88 and the ABB. Even if she can't do anything…" He grimaced.

"My thoughts exactly. The Wards can protect her better than… then I'll be able to." Danny sighed, "I can't…" He ran a hand over his face. "God damn it."

Alan nodded. "Well, I'm not the right person to show this to. I'm a divorce lawyer Danny, not a parahuman one. If parahumans are involved with my clients it's normally escalated beyond a civil settlement." A very polite way of saying one of the 'participants' was probably dead.

"All I need is someone to read this over Alan. You have to know someone?" Danny asked.

Alan raised an eyebrow before gesturing at his door. "Down the hall, Carol Dallon." He said.

The dockworker blinked, then chuckled. "I forgot you worked with Brandish. Think she'd be willing to go over this? I know she's a criminal lawyer but…"

"Well, I can't speak for her, but I can introduce you." Alan reached up and shut the briefcase before sliding it over to Danny. "C'mon. My nine o'clock should be here any moment so let's get this dealt with."

"Thanks Alan." Danny smiled.

"Not a problem." Alan replied as the two of them rose from their chairs, Danny grabbing the briefcase from the desk, and Alan lead the way out the door and down the hall a few doors. They stopped by an open door. Inside a middle-aged woman with blonde hair and a look of severe concentration on her face as she typed on the computer. She glanced up as Alan tapped on the doorframe. "Carol, have a moment?" He asked.

"More than I'd prefer. My nine o'clock just called in to say they can't make it." She said with a sigh. She glanced to Danny. "We've met before haven't we."

"Ah, yes." Alan glanced back at Danny. "I think the two of you have said hello in passing once or twice before."

Danny stepped into the room. "Danny Hebert." He said, holding out his hand.

"Carol Dallon. Can I ask what this is about?" She asked.

"He needs an opinion from someone more well versed in parahuman law than me." Alan said.

"On what?" She raised an eyebrow as he set the briefcase down on the armrest of the chair across from her. Her other eyebrow went up as she saw the amount of paperwork. She leaned forward. "I see. Well then Mr. Hebert. Please, take a seat. Alan, I'll take it from here."

"Thank you Carol. Good luck Danny." Alan said before hurriedly ducking out of the office. The door clicked shut behind him.

Danny smiled and slipped into the chair. "Thank you Mrs. Dallon." He said.

"This is perhaps the third time I've been asked to, professionally, help someone with Wards paperwork Mr. Hebert. Far too few people fair to read those documents fully." She said with a grimace.

"That bad?" He grimaced.

"By government standards? Hardly. It could be worse, but the base Wards contract is significantly more unfair than it really needs to be. Now, I assume this is on behalf of your own child?" She asked.

"My daughter."

She nodded. "Well, let's start from the top. Tell me about her." She said, laying one hand atop the other on her desk.

Danny sighed the nodded. "It started last friday when Taylor failed to come home after school…"

-0-0-0-0-0-

"... which you should be able to feel once we complete a few exercises." Inari rambled, gesturing with her paws between chewing on an apple she had gotten from somewhere.

It was the next morning and Taylor had found herself herded onto the couch with a bowl of dry sugary cereal as she listened to her 'spirit guide' explain 'basic thaumic manipulation theory'. She probably should have been writing these things down, but she hadn't eaten yet and it was, in her opinion, too early for studying.

That didn't mean she wasn't trying to pay attention.

Taylor swallowed her mouthful of cereal. "And those exercises are?" She asked.

"We'll start with a form of mediation." Inari replied.

"Meditation." She frowned.

"Well the other exercises start with me trying to force instinctive uses of power out of you." The fox replied before glancing up. "Accidental lightning discharges are best done outside."

Taylor glanced about the living room and winced. Explaining to her dad why she had burned down the house while he was gone would be awkward, at a minimum. "Yeah…" She sighed before taking another bite.

"And we can't go outside right now, not to mention your backyard is kinda small." Inari said dryly.

Taylor frowned, but didn't dispute that. It was fairly large for Brockton Bay, but it was probably small when put in a meteorological perspective. What was a backyard compared to a storm after all?

"Finish up and we'll get started." Inari finished her apple and flipped the core onto a plate beside her. It bounced a little, but settled atop the other three apple cores without issue.

Taylor rolled her eyes at the little fist pump Inari did, but hurried on her own food. A few minutes later she set the bowl aside. "Alright, where do we start?" She asked.

"First, take a seat on the ground here." Inari tapped the floor, "I'll walk you through taking a proper posture so this doesn't hurt after a while. Probably."

"Probably?" Taylor asked as she got off the couch and onto the floor. It might have been carpeted, but carpet wasn't exactly comfortable when you tried to sit on it for more than a few seconds.

"This is your first try, you'll probably get it wrong even with my help." Inari remarked. "Grab that throw cushion, you'll need it to sit on." She added, pointing to the cushion Taylor had been leaning against as she ate.

Once the cushion had made it way from the couch to between her and the floor Inari continued. "Alright, let's not get too complicated here. Legs out. Good. Now, fold your left leg inward, placing your foot against your thigh." Taylor attempted to fold her leg as instructed. "No, not like that. Flat against you thigh, not under it." It took several attempts, but soon Taylor was sitting in a meditative pose.

"And now we can begin talking actual meditation." Inari sighed, by now the fox had moved the foot stool over and was sitting on it.

"So, clear my mind? Think of nothing right?" Taylor asked. That was how everything seemed to depict meditation.

Inari scoffed. "That is a form of meditation, but we're trying to help you focus on something not lose track of time." She sniffed before curling up on the stool. "Now, you're partly right. You are going to be trying to clear your mind of everything except one thing. That thing you are going to focus on and try to see, feel, and experience."

"And that'll be?" Taylor prodded.

"We're going to try and get you to do a repeat of the lightning from earlier. A few sparks would be rather impressive if we can manage it." Taylor stared at the fox. "What?"

"I thought you said we were going to try and avoid shooting anything with lightning." She said with a frown. This sounded like a recipe for disaster to her.

"And this will avoid that. Look, the other methods would require me putting you under some form of strain then trying to get you to feel out how you do whatever thing you do instinctively. It can be effective under the right circumstances, and can reveal unknown aspects of your powers. However, we don't have a safe place to do it, and we already know how you have lightning so meditation is a much safer way of experimenting. Let me be honest, I'm not expecting you to manage more than a few sparks or even manage anything at all. This is our first session. It's about learning posture and learning how to reorganize your thoughts to best draw out your new powers." Inari lectured.

Taylor sighed. "Fine." She said, vaguely reassured that she wasn't going to be accidentally blasting holes in the wall.

"Good, now. Lighting. Close your eyes and listen to me."

Taylor closed her eyes. "Okay."

"Posture, remember straight posture. Good." Inari made a humming noise of approval as Taylor straightened her back. "Now, lightning. Focus on lightning, everything you know of it. Not just how it sounds or looks, but conceptually. Focus on that and try to imagine it forming a small ball in your hands."

Taylor tried, she really did, but lightning… What was lightning? Electricity? Electrons flowing from one point to another? She tried to focus on that and imagine it flowing into a ball in her hands. Nothing happened, nothing happened for over an hour before her mind wandered from the topic at hand in the direction of what her dad was doing right then.

Danny had left around eight o'clock to try and see if he could get help from Alan Barnes. She managed to avoid frowning at that. Mr. Barnes might have been the father of Emma, her old former friend and one of those who had shoved her into her own locker. Well, shoved or watched and taunted her while it happened. It was just the latest in their bullying campaign that had lasted since september.

"Lightning, focus Taylor." Inari chided as some of her thoughts must have shown on her face.

She tried to bring her mind back, but it strayed soon after back onto her dad and Mr. Barnes. She had wanted to tell him, but… Ever since her mother had died he had been so down, and while he had gotten a bit better over the last couple years his worries about the Dockworkers Union, at which he was the Hiring Manager, had only been getting worse. Once the Dockworkers Union had been amongst the top five employers in the Bay, now it could barely manage to keep its handful of members in work.

It had started with the downtick of world trade caused by a mixture of Parahuman issues, Behemoths attacks on oil and gas fields, overall economic decline, and finally Leviathan. Combined it had sent the shipping industry into a downward slide that had marginalized Brockton Bay's previous bustling shipping business. Being a smaller city with a smaller port shipping companies had moved away from it in favour of the larger ports in places like Boston, which were nearby. The final nail was, ironically, self-inflicted. When a large protest by the union and a number of other dockside groups over the decline and City Hall's inability to do anything about it things had turned violent. She didn't know exactly what had happened, no one really did, but when it was over the deepest part of the channel had been blocked by a massive tanker ship that was still there to this day.

Brockton Bay had been founded here because of the bounty of the harbour and its access to the sea, it was ironic that what had truly caused its slide into obscurity had been its actions cutting off from the sea… the sea...

Something stirred in Taylor. The sea… Wide and vast, it was on the surface an empty plain, but underneath… oh, underneath. While the ships plied the straights above fish swarmed beneath. Vast schools of tuna, salmon, haddock. Lone sharks and pods of dolphins and whales. They followed the currents that turned and twisted in the depths. The sea looked so tranquil from above, but beneath the surface it writhed like a living thing.

Her hands twitched, squeezing something. They felt… cool all of a sudden.

She could almost picture the ocean between her fingers. An orb of purest water, a clear and see through sphere whose surface did not waver for a second from its perfect shape, yet roiled and twisted with a vortex beneath.

"TAYLOR STOP!"

Taylor started as Inari's voice ripped through her concentration. Then there was water everywhere. Coughing and shaking her hands she wiped her eyes clear and looked around. She was soaking wet. Inari, poking out from behind the footstool, was soaking wet. The couch was wet, the carpet was soaked, there was water on the walls and ceiling. "What the hell?" She coughed. It felt like she'd tried to inhale the ocean.

Inari shook herself and Taylor raised a hand as the water went everywhere. "Well, that was more successful than I'd thought it would be." The fox said as she walked over, the carpet squelching beneath her paws with every step.

"I did this?" Taylor asked, looking at her own hands.

"Yep. I don't know what you were thinking exactly, but you went from looking frustrated to just zen all of a sudden." Inari said, walking behind the couch. "Oh, hey dry spot. Eh, sorta dry. Good enough. Anyway, you created this small ball of water but it kept growing and growing and, well it was bigger than me. That's why I started yelling. Took a couple minutes."

Taylor blinked and looked down at her hands blankly. She'd… done that?

"So, can you think of what led to it? Mind explaining what you were so focused on?" Inari asked from behind the couch. The sound of someone wringing out a cloth carried around the furniture.

"I," Taylor swallowed, "I was thinking about the ocean. The fish, the currents, its look, feel, how it looked do calm from above but…"

"Is so busy beneath." Inari stuck her head back around the couch's corner. She looked marginally less soaked. "That sounds like the sea. Can't say I'm too surprised."

Taylor frowned. "Why not?" She asked, "Lightning doesn't exactly fit 'ocean' does it?"

"Actually, it kinda does. Sea gods often also have dominion over Storms since its natural for Sailors to pray to the Sea God for good weather while sailing." Inari explained, "Lightning was probably too specific to get an intuitive response so soon. You can barely feel your power, lightning is probably just a small part of it. Separating it out would be impossible at this point if it's derived from a domain of Storm. Also, you're native to a Sea Port. Shoulda guessed you'd have some influence over it."

Taylor nodded slowly. "Okay, but… then why did it do anything? I thought you said this would take days?" She asked. Before Inari could respond they heard the front door open.

"Taylor, I'm back." Danny called.

"Oh, and you might have been doing that for the last six hours." Inari said as Taylor began to look wildly about the soaking wet living room in a desperate panicked hope that she could find something to fix it.

"Taylor?" Her dad called, sounding somewhat worried.

She grimaced. "In here." She called back. Oh, this was going to be so hard to explain.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Danny shut the briefcase and smiled across at Carol Dallon. "Thank you for your help Mrs. Dallon." He said.

Carol stood up from her chair. "It was my pleasure Mr. Hebert. I'll look into what we discussed and call you sometime tomorrow." She said holding out her hand.

Shaking it Danny grinned. "Retaining your services was a bit more than I originally intended, but thank you for taking this on." He said.

"Well things have conspired to leave me with more than enough time to do so Mr. Hebert. Shall I show you out?" She gestured to the door.

"I know where the door is thank you. Have a good day Mrs. Dallon." He said as he made his way to the door.

"You as well. Good day." She said, sitting back down and turning her attention back to her computer.

He ducked out and shut the door behind him. Standing in the hall he let out a deep sigh. Carol Dallon was an intimidating and intense woman whose knowledge on parahuman matters was quite extensive. While he had originally intended to simply ask for advice the further into the documents they had gotten the more he had realized just how little he understood about how the law affected parahumans like Taylor.

"Finally done Danny?" He glanced up as Alan walked over. "I've been checking for you every ten minutes for the last two hours."

Danny chuckled. "There was a lot to cover Alan. A lot. I've retained her services for now." He said.

"Really? Her rates aren't cheap you know." His friend said.

"She reduced them for this. Apparently she has something of an issue with the current PRT Director unless I miss my guess." He replied. He placed and hand on Alan's shoulder and pulled him along towards the front. "I need to get going. I've left Taylor alone for long enough. Who knows what she'll have gotten up to by now."

Alan chuckled. "Knowing her? Could be anything." He said, "But uhh, before you go Danny." They stopped in the hallway. "It's been a while. Around a year now, but uh… I was thinking of hosting a barbeque next weekend. Why don't you and Taylor come by?"

Danny sighed. It had been a while. "I can't. With everything going on I want to keep Taylor's situation as quiet as I can until everything is official." He said.

"That's fine. Maybe another time then?" Alan said with a sigh.

Danny frowned. "Look, not this week, but how about rather than us coming over, you bring your family over at the end of July. We can do a barbeque, I'll get Kurt over and we can visit properly." He suggested. He'd admit it had been a long time since he'd done anything like this, but the barbeque was probably in usable condition? Uh, probably needed a good clean out, but it should be usable… hopefully.

Alan grinned. "Sounds good. Steak? Burgers?" He asked.

"We'll see what I can find." He patted his old friend on the shoulder. "I'll call you with the details once I'm sure."

"Talk to you then Danny."

"Yep. Talk to you later." With that Danny headed down the hallway and exited the building, smiling. It was a smile he kept right through finding his daughter sitting in the middle of the living room, with every surface inundated with impressive amounts of water. Normally he would have been mad, but the wet dog impression she was doing managed to get a chuckle out of him as he searched for towels to help mop it, and her, up.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Glenn Chambers, Head of Public Relations for the PRT, pondered the sketch he'd just finished up. He spared a glance at the photograph on the tablet lying next to his sketchpad. He frowned. "No, no, won't work." He sighed.

On the pad was a sketch of a costume for the girl in the photograph. It was more martial than most of his work, an armoured chestpiece, flowing robes, and a club-like weapon at her hip. Perhaps tinkertech, perhaps not. The sketched girl had her hair up in an elaborate braid held together by some form of jewelry.

"Too impractical." He muttered, "Braids fall apart at the worst times, and she doesn't have the musculature for so much armour." He tapped his pencil on the table as he thought. This would be so much easier if he actually knew what Taylor Hebert's power actually was. Even the girl in question hadn't had a clue if there was anything more beyond a talking fox and her quite lovely fox tails and ears.

He glanced at the photograph again. Perhaps something more oriental? Japanese perhaps? They had a lot of things involving foxes didn't they? He could vaguely recall something from those Aleph-Japan animated films that his niece had forced him to watch a few months back. Sure Taylor was hardly Japanese, but cultural appropriation was almost a tradition at this point when it came to creating costumes. Perhaps…. Hmm…

His thoughts were interrupted by a polite cough from his left. Letting his ideas churn in the back of his mind he turned to face the PRT Trooper who was waiting politely. "Yes?" He asked.

"Director Piggot wishes to see you Mr. Chambers." The trooper said.

"Really? Now I assume?" Chambers asked, already folding up his sketchpad and shutting off his tablet.

"Yes sir." The trooper nodded.

Glenn groaned as he eased his way out of the cafeteria table bench. His back cracked softly as he stood. He ignored the way the trooper winced. "Well, let's not keep her waiting then." He said, allowing the trooper to lead him out of the room.

As they walked he considered what it was that Piggot might want to talk about. Most likely it was about the young lady whose costume he had been sketching ideas for. Well that, or Armsmaster's accidental romp through the bath house had blown up into something much worse than a mere reprimand could solve. It wouldn't be the first time.

Ten minutes later he bid goodbye to trooper outside of the Director's office. Her receptionist waved him in. Opening the doors he walked into the room. "Director Piggot, you wished to speak to me?" He asked as he took in the room and its sole occupant. Well that wasn't entirely accurate. While Piggot was the only one physically present within the room the left wall had been replaced with a projected image of the office of Chief-Director of the PRT Costa-Brown.

"Glenn, thank you for joining us." Costa-Brown said with a nod as Piggot turned to him. "We were just going over the latest information on this latest parahuman in the Bay. Emily would you mind sharing what you were telling me?"

He caught Piggot's slight twitch at the use of her first name by the first director. With the tone of voice the Chief-Director used it was a bit like being called out in elementary school by the teacher. He stifled a sigh, it appeared that their working relationship was as nasty as ever.

Piggot was, however, a professional and managed to keep her annoyance with her superior out of her tone. "The situation involving Taylor Hebert has evolved. A half-hour ago we received word that she accidentally flooded her living room while experimenting. According to our team keeping an eye on her she created an orb of compressed water. Our thinkers estimate it to have been about forty gallons at least in an orb the size of a basketball. When she lost concentration it flooded the entire room."

Glenn whistled. "So she has more to her than just a talking fox or some electricity then." He said. Water, he could work with water. Dark blues perhaps? Possibly a waves motif? Though if she had lightning as well… a storms motif then? Brockton Bay was named for the body of water it surrounded on three sides after all. Playing that local angle might work.

"The think-tank is working over the new information right now, the results so far are indeterminate, even more so than before." Director Costa-Brown said, interrupting Piggot.

"And it appears she is inclined to join us as well." Piggot said, shooting an annoyed glance at her superior. A glance that Costa-Brown simply appeared to ignore. "About an hour ago Carol Dallon, Brandish, of New Wave contacted us. Mr. Hebert has retained her services to negotiate on his behalf."

That was interesting, and odd. "I thought the Heberts were a low-end middle-class family." Glenn said, "The costs of a Lawyer like Mrs. Dallon are quite high."

"How isn't particularly important, especially since we'll probably never get that information out of them." Costa-Brown replied, "But one of the conditions that has already been communicated is a say in whatever costume Ms. Hebert is to be wearing before anything is signed."

"A request we are both inclined to allow." Piggot interjected.

He frowned. It wasn't without precedent. Several times in the past prospective members of the Protectorate with particularly valuable skillsets had been given a great deal of leeway as an incentive to get them to sign on. "Input, yes. Final say, no." He said. "I've seen what teenagers think is appropriate costume design. Ms. Taylor represents a gold mine for PR if we play our cards right, I won't let that go to waste just because of bad costume design."

"And keeping a potentially powerful parahuman from going elsewhere is more important that their looks." Piggot responded.

"Do what you can to get her in then that doesn't take away creative control from my people. I'm not joking when I say a PR gold mine. Ms. Taylor won't have the luxury of wearing a mask and I'm planning on running with that. Let me show you." He said, turning on his tablet and linking it to the projection systems. "Let's see… here we go." He pulled up a photograph of one of his earlier sketches and sent it to both of the two directors while he put it up on screen. "Can you see this Chief Director?" He asked.

She nodded as she peered at her computer. "I do. Interesting design, very greek." She said.

"I was toying with running with the Fox's comments about gods. Not an attitude we want to encourage however. Still, this was the first one were I removed the mask." He said, pointing out the blank face of the generic female in the drawing. "Do you know what the single biggest consistent issue both the PRT and Protectorate face day to day in PR?" He asked.

"If you listen to the complaints from City Hall it's our inability to deal with the Empire and the ABB." Director Piggot snarked.

"Trust I believe." The Chief-Director said looking to him.

His hand swung to point dramatically at her face on the wall. "Precisely." He said. "Trust. And the biggest issue is that neither the PRT nor the Protectorate have a face. Scandals about irresponsible use of funds, or excessive force blow over eventually. But the fact is all of our heroes wear masks, even the PRT Troopers wear full helmets."

"By necessity Glenn." Director Costa-Brown said. They had had this conversation before. "Need I remind you of the New Wave incident from years back with Fleur." Fleur of New Wave had been murdered in her own home after the entire team had gone public with their identities as part of an attempt to do away with the secret identity thing.

"I am aware Director, and I'm not arguing against it. But we have a crisis of trust on our hands. There is no one we can point to in our ranks who doesn't wear a mask of some type. It makes it very easy for our opponents to vilify our people as faceless government goons. We don't have people, we have faceless drones. Of the Triumvirate how many can you even tell has a properly human face? One. Alexandria wears a metal bowl over everything but her mouth. Eidolon covers his entire face in cloth and even Legend, whose face you can tell has the right shape, wears a domino mask that distorts his features and hides his eyes. There is no one who lives without a mask in our ranks." Glenn said, breathing heavily as he finished.

"What about the case 53s? They live their lives without putting on a mask." The Chief-Director said.

"Their lives are, unfortunately, masks in and of themselves." Glenn replied, "We can pretty them up, dress them up all we want. But to the public the only names they have are their hero names. Their forms are rarely even human-like, and they often have strange habits or needs that make it difficult for people to relate to them." It was the perennial issue of branding Case 53s. They were simply too inhuman for many to accept. Not even inhuman in a consistent way either, there was no pattern to their appearances, powers, or problems.

"We can change that with Ms. Hebert. At least, we have the potential to change that. Assuming she is willing to work with us I can make excellent use of her unique situation. We can't hide who she is, and unlike Case 53s she's someone that the average person can bond with. An average schoolgirl from an average family in a typical American city." He continued, pulling up a photo of her sitting on the couch, this time snacking on crackers and cheese with her fox trying to steal from the plate in her lap.

"You say she might have multiple, possible potent, powers? All the better. It makes it easier to hold her up as the face of our organization if she can actually do the job we're supposed to do. I've seen the report Battery put together on her and the think-tanks take on her personality. Her only big issue is her shyness and I've worked with much worse over the years. If she's willing to play ball Directors, we need her. A lot more than she needs us." He finished, sitting back down with a sigh. There, that was his take on this. He spared a glance at the picture on the wall. If it wasn't for the tails and ears you'd think she was just an ordinary girl. It struck a balance between the extraordinariness of Capes and the average life of the common man that they sorely needed to help bridge the divide.

The two directors shared a long silent look. Finally Piggot broke it. "I will not bend over backwards on a maybe. Not to New Wave." She said.

"I won't ask you to." Costa-Brown replied, "But Glenn is right. This has been an issue for years. If we can address it we should. That said, anyone we hold up as a symbol is going to become a target for our enemies. Glenn, make sure you know what you're doing. Her getting killed as a Ward would make anything you do backfire on us." She said severely.

He nodded. There were people with powers who simply wanted to watch the world burn, and who wouldn't hesitate to destroy anything that seemed like it might help make the world better. Even a young girl wasn't safe. "I know. Which is why we'll need to leverage our resources to help her master her powers."

"I'd like to take a moment to remind both of you that all we have is evidence that she can produce large amounts of water, and maybe electricity. Nothing more." Piggot said irritably. "You're gambling she's going to be more than just an average cape."

Glenn nodded. "I can work with average. I don't need her to be the next Eidolon, or Legend, or Alexandria. Average works fine." He said.

"Call it a feeling Emily. I've taken bigger gambles in the past and they've worked out fine." Costa-Brown said before glancing at the clock. "We are running out of time however. Emily, get her on board. That's an order. Glenn, you'll be working on this one personally so find an office and get used to Brockton Bay, you'll be there for a while. Also, get working on a costume design you think you can get past her father. Good day to both of you." They echoed her and the projector turned off.

Glenn stood up. "Well, if that's that." He said, disconnecting his tablet from the system.

"I'll send a message down to HR to find you some office space." Piggot said, scowling openly at her computer. "Get me your ideas by tomorrow morning. Deputy-Director Renick will need them for the negotiations with Brandish. Get out." She shot a glance at him before going back to her work.

Taking the brusque order he hurried out the door. Behind him he heard her dialing up someone on the phone. "Miss Militia, Director Piggot here I need you to-" The door shut behind him, cutting off the conversation.

He took a deep breath and sighed. It was going to be a long night if he wanted to get some ideas put together. Pulling out his cell he hit the speed dial for the local head of PR. If he was going to get this done he'd need more manpower. His subordinate picked up on the second ring. "Jennifer, excellent…" He launched into an explanation of what was happening as he made is way for the lift. First, the cafeteria to arrange for an urn of coffee, then the PR offices on level two. It was going to be a long night. A really, really long night.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A/N: And Part Four of The Taste of Peaches. A little less Taylor focused this time, but important background events while Taylor figures out how to Goddess. Also the first chapter to be posted on TTP's own thread. It's not entering the rotation of major stories, but I'll do one of these 5k+ chapters when I feel like writing worm.

Embarrassed Edit: And a thank you to Gekkou_Yoko for being my editor again. And an apology for forgetting to thank her, again. *sheepish kitsune*


	5. Chapter 5

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A Worm Fanfic

The Taste of Peaches

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

5

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Take it slow. In with the breath… and out… in… and out. Good, keep up that rhythm."

Taylor paused, the water in the bathtub held in a wave at one end of the ceramic basin. "The first fifty times were helpful. Now it's just annoying." She said as she swept her hand back across the tub, dragging the wave behind it. The week had seen her stuck inside, and during that time she had made a point of practicing her new abilities with somewhat more responsibility than before.

There had been no further exploration of 'lightning' or anything that required her to try and draw out new aspects of her power. Much to the disappointment of Inari who seemed utterly undaunted by the Living Room Flood. Her dad was still complaining about finding salt between the cushions.

Inari rolled her eyes from where she was flopped on her side by the radiator. "You've managed to master this little demonstration days ago. Repeating this isn't just boring, it's literally pointless." The fox said.

Taylor sighed and gestured upwards. The entire body of water followed her directions and lifted from the tub as a single mass that floated in the air above the tub. It took less than a thought for the water to split apart into streamers that twirled through the air, spinning around and through each other in a display that amazed her with how easy it had become in only a few days.

"I guess." She sighed, leaning back against the counter. She entertained herself spinning the water into ever more complex shapes. It was a simple, almost mindless action that she only really noticed when she focused on it. Not like when she had first tried. It was a good thing she'd moved to the bathroom after that first attempt, the tile was much better at dealing with water than the carpet had been. As she had demonstrated repeatedly for the first three days. She had spent more time those first few days mopping up the results of her attempts than actually attempting to master her power. There was still a faint crush of salt in the corners she could spot if she bothered looking.

A knock on the open door dragged her attention away from the water. It flowed back into the tub as she turned away. "Hey, Little Owl." Her dad greeted as he looked in.

"Hey, dad." She smiled. Her tails waved back and forth in response to her mood.

"Not making a mess?" He teased.

She pouted. "I haven't done that in a few days now." She sighed as he chuckled. "This has gotten too simple now though. I don't feel like I'm learning anything new."

Danny nodded. "Well, then I guess you'll like the news. The PRT wants you to come in for power testing tomorrow." He said.

"I thought that we were waiting on a contract first?" Taylor asked, frowning.

"Well, we've hit a bit of an issue when talking about costumes. The PRT made the point that they base a lot of their designs on someone's powers. You don't need to dress an Alexandria-lite up in armour the same way you do others." He sighed.

"Oh. I guess not." She frowned, "But I don't exactly have super strength or anything like that." She replied.

"You're a goddess. You're a lot more capable than a mere mortal in every area." Inari interjected from her spot on the floor. "That includes the physical. We haven't exactly been practicing since we don't have the room for it, but that doesn't mean you don't have it."

Taylor shot her a look. "We have weights." She pointed out.

"And that might have been enough if you were just a demigoddess. You aren't a demigoddess. Capital G, no demi-anything Tay-chan~" Inari hummed smugly.

"And they've heard about some of our… misadventures from the team they have keeping an eye on our house." Her dad continued before Taylor could get into another argument with the Fox Spirit. "They've offered the use of their facilities for any practice sessions you and Inari wish to undertake, and transport to and from said facilities."

"A bribe, but an aspect we were hoping to get access to eventually." Inari hummed.

"And, they've offered to cover the costs of new, tailored, clothes for yourself. I know you've been complaining about the fit of your clothing since the change and, well money being what it is…" He trailed off, giving her a hopeful smile.

Taylor winced and self-consciously readjusted her pyjama bottoms. Ever since the event, it had been like she'd started putting on weight at an alarming rate. None of her regular pants fit her as of the day before and even if she hadn't had to wear them lower than she'd like to account for her tails her pyjamas would have been almost uncomfortably tight. As it was they fit, but they were far from comfortable.

Her dad nodded. "I thought you'd like that idea. They'll have people and clothes on hand tomorrow. I'll be accompanying you in when they come to pick you up. We'll meet Mrs. Dallon there." He said.

Taylor adjusted her pyjamas again and nodded.

Inari sighed loudly. "Finally! We can move on from the basics. For this anyway."

Taylor rolled her eyes but smiled. It would be nice to get out of the house after spending a week cooped up inside. Feel the breeze, see the sky without a window between her and it… and maybe get to do something more interesting than find ever more complicated ways to create a 3D figure eight.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The next day, Taylor stepped out of the black featureless SUV that the PRT had sent to pick her up into the underground secure parkade. Yawning, her father climbed out after her, pushing aside a couple of her tails as they waved in his face.

"Sorry about that." She said sheepishly to her dad, swinging her tails to the side. There was an 'oof' as they struck something. She winced and sent an apologetic glance at the PRT Trooper who had just been bulled over. "Sorry." Her dad chuckled.

"It's fine Taylor. The ride wasn't that bad." He said with a smile. She wasn't sure how it had been since he had spent the entire ride pressed up against the other side of the SUV because of the space her tails took up.

"You sure?" She asked.

A scoff came from ankle level and she glanced down to find Inari sitting by her feet. "Your tails might as well be clouds. It's like getting crushed by pillows, he'll be fine." She said.

"Still…" Taylor grumbled, turning her attention to the people waiting on them as the vehicle that had dropped them off pulled away, presumably to either its next assignment or to find its parking space. Carol Dallon was standing by the door leading into the building along with another woman who Taylor recognized. Dressed in camouflage pants, a green tank top, with a pistol at her hip and a star-spangled bandana across her face was Miss Militia the most well known, and popular, heroine in the city. She did not squeal as the two heroines, one in costume and one not, walked over to them.

"Mr. Hebert, Taylor, welcome to the offsite testing facility." Miss Militia said holding out a hand to her dad.

"Thank you for bringing us out." Her dad said, shaking the hand. "I hope this hasn't inconvenienced anyone?"

"This is precisely what this facility is meant for, Mr. Hebert." Miss Militia said with a shake of her head. "Helping a young parahuman-"

"Goddess," Inari interjected from nearby Taylor's ankle. Other than a sharp glance downward Miss Militia ignored the fox.

"-discover and master their powers." Miss Militia finished. She may have been smiling behind her mask, but well… mask. It was impossible to tell. "Now, you are a bit early, but we have everything waiting, so shall we get started today?" She asked, looking to her dad.

"That is why we're here, isn't it?" Her dad commented. Taylor nodded. The sooner they got started the sooner they'd finish. Her tails wagged enthusiastically, accidentally buffeting her dad a couple of times before she reigned them in.

"Then we should get started." Mrs. Dallon said, smiling to Taylor. "Ms. Hebert, I'm happy to meet you in person finally."

"Hello, Mrs. Dallon," Taylor said, waving a hand shyly. She ignored the amused snickering from her ankles.

"This way then." Miss Militia led the way inside, swiping her ID at the security pad by the door. It beeped and she stepped through, holding the door open to let them in. The inside was a sterile reception area with white tiles, white walls, and those mineral board ceiling tiles you see everywhere. There was a woman at the far end of the room sitting at a desk with a glass partition across the front.

The woman behind the desk glanced up and raised an eyebrow. Taylor's ear twitched as she heard the woman mumble, "They were serious," under her breath.

Miss Militia led them over to the counter. "Ms. Miller, our guests have arrived." She said to the receptionist.

"So I see." She replied, fishing a three-ring binder out of the desk along with two guest passes, the type you clipped onto your clothes. "Name and pass ID." She said simply as she slid the binder through the gap in the partition. Taylor and her Dad signed in, marking their names and the numbers on the IDs down in the book before clipping the passes on. Miss Militia slid the binder back through the divider and the woman nodded as she looked it over.

"Alright. Good to go. Enjoy your time Ms. Hebert." She nodded to Taylor with a smile.

"Thank you." Taylor nodded to her, waving as she followed Miss Militia out the door beside the desk and down the hallway.

As they walked Miss Militia explained what their plans were. "First on our agenda is taking care of your clothing issue, Taylor." She said, addressing Taylor as they entered an elevator. She tapped the button for the second floor as soon as Miss Dallon stepped into the elevator. It was a tight fit, not because of how many people were there, there was only the four of them, but because of Taylor's tails. The three adults had been forced to one side as Taylor tried to squeeze into the other, with her tails wrapped about her like a cloak of black clouds.

"Maybe the stairs would have been a better option?" Taylor asked her dad, who chuckled.

"We're well under the weight limit Taylor, this is fine." Miss Militia said soothingly, even as she brushed off the tip of one of Taylor's tails which had somehow gotten stuck in her uniform.

"A bit crowded though." Her dad chuckled, getting a pout from her. Beside him, Mrs. Dallon gently pushed away a tail that was brushing her face whenever it twitched. Soon the door opened and they all piled out into another sterile white hallway, though this one had windows overlooking a swimming pool. The pool was larger than those you might see at a public pool, closer in size to an Olympic pool, though even that seemed to be smaller than the one in front of her.

"This way please." Miss Militia said after she spent a moment adjusting her tank top and mask. They walked down the hallway away from the swimming pool. The superheroine ushered them into a room a couple of doors down the hall from the windows. Inside was what might have been a small classroom. The far corner was concealed behind a cloth screen. In the other corner across the room were racks of clothes in many fashionable styles. There was a large table with comfortable chairs set up around it in the center of the room. Several mannequins were set up to the side along with several sewing machines, racks of material, and several women and a couple of men whose eyes seemed to light up the moment they landed on Taylor.

She took a nervous step back through the doorway as she listened in on their excited analysis of her… 'approachability', 'preciousness', and 'elegance'? There was a soft 'oof' as she stepped into Miss Militia. "Sorry." She apologized. Blushing as she quickly went back inside where the group to the side were now chattering about fashions and styles as they flipped through ringed binders and pointed things out on them. More than a few fingers were pointed briefly at her as well.

"You okay Little Owl?" Her dad whispered as she joined him.

"Fine." Her left ear twitched as she listened in on the group as their conversation grew a bit louder before one of their number cleared his throat.

"Stick to what we have prepared. Don't get too out there." He instructed. They nodded and quieted down a bit before he extracted himself from the group and turned to them. The man was… Taylor figured eccentric was generous. He squinted through thin glasses and wore a tacky Hawaiian shirt and tan shorts that seemed a bit too short. His hair was combed like he's gotten half-way through a mohawk and had to run off before he could finish. He looked like he hadn't a clue about dressing himself, let alone dressing others.

He smiled at them. "Welcome. Mr. Hebert, Glenn Chambers PRT Head of PR. A pleasure to meet you." He said, offering his hand to her dad.

"Good to meet you as well." Her dad shook his hand. He frowned a bit as he gave the man a look over. She had to agree he looked… unqualified.

"Miss Militia, thank you for bringing them here," Glenn said, shaking the Heroines hand before turning to Mrs. Dallon. "Carol. It has been a while." He said politely shaking her hand as well.

"Quite some time Glenn." She said professionally, "I see you still haven't learned to dress yourself properly."

The man chuckled. "Well, you know how it is. Bouncing around managing heroes all the time leaves no time for shopping. I'm just lucky there're gift shops in airports." Ignoring her snort of disbelief he turned to Taylor, who wrinkled her nose at the man. She could smell the cologne the man wore, a sweet tangy odour that bothered her nose.

He didn't seem to notice as he took a step towards her. The scent got stronger, tickling her nose fiercely. "And the girl of the hour herself. Glad to finally meet y-"

"'Choo!" She sneezed, hard. It was loud enough it could have been compared to a cannon. The effects were certainly impressive, even if not quite on the level of a cannon. She had been, unfortunately for Glenn, looking at his face and when she sneezed a blast of air caught him in the jaw, knocking his head back as he was thrown back several feet. He hit the ground like a sack of potatoes.

For a long moment, the room was silent except for the groaning of Glenn as he shook his head and blinked slowly at the ceiling. Then a certain white fox started cackling with laughter, falling on her own side as she howled.

"It's not FUNNY!" Taylor shouted at the fox by her feet as Miss Militia and Carol Dallon ran over to help Glenn as he shook his head and tried to sit up.

"Ow." He said, rubbing his jaw. "That… ow." He repeated as Miss Militia pulled a flashlight from her pocket and shone it into his eyes. "Stop-stop. Damn it, it wasn't that hard." He grumbled waving the two women away.

"Are you alright?" Taylor asked, her tails and ears limp as she stared at him worried that she'd accidentally hurt him.

"He looks fine." Mrs. Dallon said as she looked him in the eye.

"I am fine." The overweight man grumbled, "Someone help me up." He ordered and a couple of his assistants came over to help him to his feet. "Thank you." He said to them as he got back up. He ran a hand across his jaw and hissed. "That is going to leave a mark tonight." He mumbled, though not quiet enough to escape her hearing.

"I'm so sorry," Taylor said, her cheeks feeling like they'd just caught fire. Her dad chuckled from where he had taken a seat at the table. She nudged Inari, who was still snickering away, with her foot.

"It's fine. It's fine." Glenn sighed, "I assume that whatever that was it was new?"

"Yes…" She said quietly.

"Come here Taylor," Her dad said, letting his chuckled trail off. Blushing furiously she took the chair beside him. He hugged her. "It's okay. This is why we're here, right?" She nodded and sighed, leaning against him.

"Well, don't worry too much about it," Glenn said, shaking his head and wincing. "I've been hit much harder before this. I don't think I'll even need anything more than Advil when I get home tonight. And it was an accident, right? Of course, it was." He continued without waiting for a response. "Now, please, everyone take a seat, well except for Taylor. Please head to the changing area we set up. Marcy, help her find something to wear for today's tests. And get some measurements while you're at it." He said the last to a blonde woman wearing a blue blouse who looked up from where she was making notes on a pad.

Slipping it into her pocket she smiled at Taylor. "This way dear." She said, heading across the room to the makeshift changing room.

Taylor looked up at her dad who nodded and she slipped out of her chair to follow Marcy. Behind her, Glenn sat down at the table and had his assistants bring over the binders they had been pouring over while making annotations.

"You sure you're alright?" Miss Militia asked again.

The PR man chuckled. "I've had more than one ward take a swing at me in the past Miss Militia. At least this one was an accident." He chuckled, "Probably my cologne or something."

"So that's what that smell is." Inari snarked, "I thought something had died." Taylor snickered into a hand as she caught up to the older woman who was standing beside the opening in the curtain.

"In here please," Marcy said politely, "Onto the step."

Stepping into the changing room Taylor found a foot high platform in the center. As she stepped onto it she frowned. "Isn't there a proper changing room here?" She asked.

"Well… Yes actually, however, you would need to be either Protectorate or a Ward. Since you haven't signed anything yet…" Marcy shrugged. "This is more than enough for today. Now, measurements. Shirt off, pants off. We need them as accurate as possible."

"Um…" Taylor shifted awkwardly. "There's a slight problem with that…"

"Nervous? It's okay, we're both girls here." Marcy said with a smile.

Taylor shook her head. "Not that but…" She sighed and ran a finger along her hips where the material of her pyjamas was digging into her side. "I barely got these when I got up, now…" She tried to slip a finger underneath and there was an ominous creaking sound from the fabric as it strained.

Marcy blinked. "Oh. Oh dear." She frowned and worried her lip with her teeth. "Yes, that is an issue. Excuse me a moment." She ducked out. A few moments later Taylor felt her blush, previously on the withdrawal, redouble. "April, can you bring me some scissors please." It really didn't help that Inari seemed to find it the funniest thing ever as she started howling with laughter.

A moment later Marcy reappeared in the doorway with a set of scissors. "Now, let's get that off you and get those measurements." She said far too brightly.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Fifteen minutes, two broken scissors, a lost measuring tape and some quiet swearing she probably wasn't supposed to hear later, Taylor pulled on some comfortable sweatpants that had been modified with a small hole for her tails. She sighed as managed to fit the new limbs through comfortably, though with some difficulty. Adjusting the tank top and light jacket they had given her she smiled at Marcy who looked a bit windswept, but happy as she looked over her notes.

"Excellent, though if this growth of yours continues we're going to need to take these measurements again." Marcy frowned, "Oh well, at least you're coming along beautifully."

Taylor blinked. "Really?" She asked, frowning at the woman as she looked for some sign the lady was trying to sugar coat things. She had never even been given one compliment over her appearance… at least not since Emma had turned on her.

"Oh yes, I'm sure if this keeps up you'll fill out nicely," Marcy said perkily humming as she made a couple more notes.

"Fill out?" Taylor muttered, turning the words over in her head before sighing. Yeah, at the rate she was going she would 'fill out' alright. Right into the shape of one of those ancient fertility statues. That was one of her 'domains' wasn't it?

"So, let's go see what everyone has gotten done so far," Marcy said with a friendly smile.

Taylor nodded and nervously adjusted the jacket she was wearing. Despite the jacket she felt a bit out of her comfort area wearing a tank top, it just left too much skin exposed for her tastes. Still, apparently they hadn't had much in her current size. Something about excepting less of her.

Following the humming woman out she walked over to the table where her dad and Inari were talking with the rest of the adults in the room. "Sir," Marcy said, walking up to Glenn with the pad of her measurements.

The man took it and glanced over at Taylor. He smiled. "Ah, isn't it amazing how much difference a few properly fitting clothes can make isn't it." He said, nodding to her dad while gesturing with the pad.

Her dad smiled. "Little Owl, you look amazing." He said, getting another blush from her. Her tails wiggled happily despite her half-hearted attempt to stop them. A soft d'aww came from somewhere in the room.

Taking a seat at the table, she asked, "What did I miss?" in an effort to get the conversation off her appearance.

"Not much. We've merely been discussing themes for your costume." Mrs. Dallon said, looking up from her tablet. "It has been rather more productive than the last couple meetings amazingly."

Taylor blinked and then narrowed her eyes at Inari. The white fox smiled innocently back up. "Yes?" Butter couldn't have melted in the former goddess' mouth.

"Your fox had few suggestions to add," Glenn noted as he looked at the notes. He frowned. "From yesterday to today you say?" He asked Marcy, who nodded. "Hrm… We'll need to hold off making the final one until this growth spurt ends I suppose. Still, we can prototype."

"Which you will get on with right away I assume?" Mrs. Dallon asked.

"We'll be attending the tests today and making notes of her powers. From there we will begin working. No point in making designs that won't work with her powers." The PR man noted, pocketing the notepad. "Well then, shall we get started?" With a murmur of agreement, everyone stood up, chairs scraping across the floor.

Sighing, since she had just sat down, Taylor followed their lead. "This way, and we'll be taking the stairs this time I think." Miss Militia said, leading them out of the room and down the hallway to the nearby stairwell. Taylor blushed and snickered. The elevator had been a bit crowded.

The hallways on the first floor were much wider and less sterile than the second floor or the basement. The hallways were carpeted with pictures and posters hanging from the walls. Benches sat every few meters down the corridor with potted plants, mostly ferns, and a couple of water fountains in alcoves. They passed the doors for the pool, a shooting range, and an 'endurance test chamber'. The last one sounded a bit ominous actually.

They reached the end of the hallway and went through a set of double doors into a reception area. A few people in lab coats were gathered around the desk going over clipboards when they entered. As one they looked up. A tall black-haired woman in the back smiled and stepped out from the crowd.

"Miss Militia," She said, her voice a bit high. "We were starting to wonder."

"There were a few minor delays." The heroine admitted, "However, we're here. Dr. June Chambers this Danny Hebert and Taylor Hebert. Your testee today."

"Chambers?" Taylor asked.

The doctor nodded as she turned her eyes to Glenn. "Yep. Hello dad." She said brusquely.

"June, I- I hadn't realized you were here," Glenn said, visibly taken aback.

"I assume you and your people can keep out of the way while we do our thing?" She asked. Taylor blinked at the thinly veiled hostility in the doctor's voice. She glanced down at Inari who looked up at her and shrugged. Well, being a goddess didn't exactly make you omniscient.

"We can," Glenn said, gathering himself.

"Good. Hello Taylor." June smiled at her. "If everyone is ready, let's get started." With that, she turned and walked down the hall passed reception, her lab coat billowing impressively behind her.

"Rather rude," Inari noted.

"I'm afraid that's my fault." Glenn sighed. "I hadn't realized she would be responsible for today's tests. My apologies." Taylor sighed and rolled her eyes. Family drama, just what she wanted to deal with during her, possibly dangerous, power testing. Internally she let out a sarcastic cheer.

"Hmm." Inari sniffed and sped off down the hallway. Everyone followed close behind. The room they entered was a large gym with a wide variety of exercise equipment from treadmills to racks of weights that went from small one pounders to an absurdly large set whose weight she could only guess at. A set of double doors stood open at the back of the room, through which Taylor could smell the scent of chlorine. It probably led to the swimming pool.

Ms. Chambers was off to the side at a desk that seemed to be made from a rack of devices whose purpose Taylor could only guess at. Sure, for some reason the one stacked on the left looked a bit like it was set up to temperature readings. And that one was probably designed to take readings of obscure particles she had no idea what the names of were, but really it was hard to tell when they all looked like black featureless boxes.

Besides the computer set up was a changing booth, a much more professional and permanent set-up than the one upstairs. The doctor looked up from her computer and nodded at Taylor. "Ms. Hebert, we will need to attach monitors to you before we proceed. Step into the booth and one of my assistants will help you get ready." She said

She hesitated for a moment before her dad tapped her on the shoulder. "Go on." He said softly, giving her a smile.

She nodded and followed the assistant, a young woman in a lab coat, who stepped forward to lead her into the booth. More than a few somewhat awkward minutes later, she couldn't believe how many little sensors they had tied to her tails, she stepped back out with an increasing sense of nervousness.

Ms. Chambers turned from where she was talking with her dad and Mrs. Dallon. "Ah, good. Come here please, Taylor." She said, waving her over to where they were standing beside a rack of moderately sized weights.

"So, I'm going to be lifting weights?" Taylor asked as she stepped up, glancing around for Inari. The white fox was lying on a table near the back of the room, looking annoyed as several assistants poked at her with a device that looked a bit like a brown mushroom made of plastic. She was fairly certain it was turning up nothing, and really did they expect that kind of exotic radiation from a _fox?_

"We will be starting with that, yes." Dr. Chambers nodded. "There are three different rooms where we shall be testing your known abilities, and seeing if we can spot others. You will be recorded during these. Some things are only obvious when viewed through recordings especially when dealing with stranger powers."

"I don't have stranger powers," Taylor said after a moment's consideration.

"You wouldn't be the first person to say that and be wrong." The doctor noted.

"Well, we should get out of your way Doctor." Her dad said, "I've taken enough of your time with questions."

The doctor nodded "Not a problem Mr. Hebert. Most parents have questions concerning the process, and on that note. Ms. Hebert." She turned to Taylor, "Any questions before we begin?" She asked.

"Um." Taylor glanced about the room. "Why is everything here exercise related?" She asked, curious. Power testing didn't normally bring to mind an exercise gym.

"This is the first part of testing. Regardless of whether or not a parahuman confesses to being capable of superhuman physical feats we do test for them. Sometimes they are simply unaware. Or trying to hide." Dr. Chambers said,

"Hide?" Taylor asked incredulously. "But, you have to agree to this don't you?" Why bother agreeing to this if they were just going to try and downplay things?

"Usually younger parahumans who were signed up by their parents." The doctor said as though it explained everything. "Once we are done here we will move on to another room. I believe the swimming pool is next on the list. Any further questions?" Taylor shook her head no. "Excellent. Now, please go find the largest weight you think you could have lifted before developing powers and wait for our signal." With that the doctor turned and left, taking Taylor's dad and Mrs. Dallon with her. Her dad flashed a smile and a cheesy thumbs up.

Taylor rolled her eyes and sighed. Right, biggest weight she could have lifted. She glanced around. What was her limit? Ten pounds maybe? Twenty? Those bags of potatoes were always a pain, though not exactly something that pushed her to her limit. So, heavier than that? Walking down the racks of weights she frowned as looked at them. The simple truth was she had never tested herself in that manner before, it hadn't been important. Who cared if she could lift half an annoying teenage girl. If she'd gone around bragging about something like that Sophia would have probably broken her arm or something just to make a point.

So, the question wasn't really what was the most she could lift before, it was what did she think she could lift at all.

Finding a particularly heft looking weight, one of those ones meant for use when doing bench presses. The weights on either end were listed as thirty pounds. It was probably too much, but at least they couldn't say she wasn't optimistic.

"You sure about that one?" The Doctor called from across the room.

Taylor shrugged. "I've never done this before." She confessed.

"You are not the first to say that. Well, if you're sure then please, go ahead." The Doctor told her.

Taylor looked down at the weights sitting in their rack for a moment and considered that maybe she should grab something a bit smaller. They were rather large after all and really throwing out her back at her age would just be embarrassing. Of course, Inari would probably take the opportunity to tease her about being indecisive if she did that, and living with a smug fox would be unbearable. Sighing, she reached down, bending at the knees like she'd seen people on TV say you should do when lifting heavy loads. She gripped the metal bar, took a deep breath and heaved with her entire body.

A second later Taylor stared up at the ceiling from halfway across the room wondering exactly what had gone wrong as a cloud of dust filled the room from the hole in the ceiling the weights had left when they had slipped out of her hands in a ballistic arc that was roughly vertical. Coughing because of the dust she sat up with a frown.

"Well," She said, "that wasn't supposed to happen." That seemed to be the last straw for Inari as the fox began laughing her ass off from where she was in the corner. Sitting in his chair her dad sighed and rubbed his forehead. Beside him, Mrs. Dallon chuckled to herself. Right, one of her daughters had super strength to. This was probably bringing back memories. Glenn, sitting in his corner with his assistants, quietly crumpled up several sketches and passed them to a colleague who dropped them into a bag.

"Well, I believe we have a rather interesting baseline to work with." Dr. Chambers said dryly as Taylor glared at the white fox.

"Suddenly I'm very happy you started with water Taylor." Her dad called to her, causing a blush to form.

"One time." She muttered as she got to her feet.

"Perhaps a larger one next time?" The Doctor suggested, getting a nod from Taylor. "Try again please." Over the next twenty minutes, Taylor worked her way through the racks of weights until she was standing at the end of the room holding what had to be a half-ton of steel and iron over her head in one hand. Twirling it slowly while watching it with a curious and disbelieving stare.

The doctor made a note on her tablet. "Right. Anything more will require special equipment." She paused to stare at the steel bar which was ever so slowly bending under the weight on either end. "I think you can set it down now." She instructed.

Setting it down on the ground, the last time she had placed it on a rack the arms of the rack had failed, she stared at it for a long moment. She hadn't noticed her strength was any greater than before. Sure she hadn't exactly been testing her strength, but she should have noticed how light everything was now.

"Onto the treadmill please." Dr. Chambers ordered, pointing to the treadmill.

A bit worried about breaking things after her accidental discovery of her own super-strength Taylor carefully stepped onto the treadmill. She ran a hand over the handlebars carefully. After the last few minutes everything just felt… she gave them a slight squeeze and winced as the metal complained. Fragile. Far too fragile all of a sudden. Attempting to take her mind off the fact that everything was now made of glass she turned her attention to the controls on the machine, or rather the lack of controls.

"Uuuum…" She looked to the Doctor.

"We will be controlling your speed. All you have to do is tell us to stop and we'll start bringing you down again." Dr. Chambers said, "Please do your best to keep up."

"Okay?" Taylor glanced down nervously at the treadmill. Who knew how fast this thing could go.

"Ready?" The doctor asked. She nodded. "Excellent. Starting in three, two, one…. Beginning." The treadmill groaned and Taylor stumbled as it started moving beneath her.

The test started slow, barely a walking pace, but it soon picked up speed. From a walk to a jog, to very light sprint where it, oddly enough, stayed for quite a while. Taylor just tried to focus on keeping up as the noise of the spinning belt beneath her grew to a fevered pitch. Her mind, however, wandered onto the topic of what other tests they had in store. They had to be planning something to test her water abilities and they'd probably try to get her to call up lightning, but beyond that, she really couldn't think of anything. Maybe an interrogation? Or perhaps they had someone invisible in the room to test to see if she could spot strangers.

Her ears twitched and twisted, unconsciously scanning for someone unseen. Her nose wrinkled. Was that smoke she was smelling? And why did her feet feel a bit… warm?

"Okay, we're going to back off now." Dr. Chambers said as the treadmill began to slow. A minute or so later it came to a stop and she stepped off it lightly. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

Taylor shrugged and adjusted her top. "A bit winded I guess? I mean it was a bit of a jog." She said. She glanced at her dad who was palming his face. What was with him? She flicked her tail to the side in annoyance. So what if they hadn't turned it up that far, it wasn't like she was that out of shape.

"Mhmm." The doctor made a note. "Okay, that's a good baseline." She paused as one of her assistants whispered into her ear. "Well, it sounds like the repair team for the ceiling is here. Why don't we move onto the pool for now?" She suggested, stepping out from behind her desk and heading for the pool.

"Sure." Taylor shrugged, joining the doctor. There was a scramble behind her as the other adults hurriedly stood up to follow.

It was the same swimming pool she had seen from above, larger than the Olympic standard with a side room full of equipment behind a panel of what might have been glass. She paused at the poolside and considered. It was probably tinkertech glass, especially since they expect to be dealing with teenagers with powers they didn't quite understand.

"So… Do you expect me to swim?" Taylor asked the Doctor as she stared down at her reflection in the water. The smell of chlorine from the pool was practically oppressive, though not in a particularly unpleasant way. Though, it was making her feel just a tad lightheaded.

"Hardly." Dr. Chambers said, "We're here to test the limits of your hydrokinesis."

Taylor nodded. That was what she had expected. Stepping up to the pool she sniffed the air. Something was definitely making her feel a bit lightheaded. Maybe she should have asked them to slow down the run earlier?

"Can you hear me Ms. Hebert?" Dr. Chambers asked from the booth, her voice booming out of the speakers above the glass wall.

"Yep." She waved back to the people inside the enclosure.

"Excellent. Now, I understand you have been practicing manipulating water for the last week. If you wouldn't mind demonstrating what you can accomplish with the water in front of you. Do note that we don't expect you to use all of it, but we would like you to manipulate as much as you feel able to." The doctor instructed.

As much as she was able to? Taylor tilted her head to the side as she considered the significantly-larger-than-her-bathtub pool. She could feel the water in the pool, had since before she had laid eyes on it when they arrived upstairs. She could sense all the water in… well, it wasn't like she had tried to measure it, but was quite a ways away. There was, of course, the ocean in the distance, a pressure she had finally recognized on her third day of practice. An always-present writhing entity on the edge of her consciousness. It wasn't alive, but she could feel the forces at work within the currents that swirled through the bay and off the coast.

The pool was a drop in the bucket, but it was still distinct enough in her senses to distinguish from the ocean in the distance or the aquifer beneath the city. She could feel it just like she could feel the dozens of pipes full of water crisscrossing the facility. Clearly, as though her hand was laid right upon it.

Taking a deep breath she reached out for the feeling she had gotten so used to while playing in her bathtub and pressed her will upon the water. It was heavy, not physically, but in a mental way. Like her head had grown heavier, if only by a pound or two. Holding a hand out she gestured upwards.

Streamers of water spouted out of a dozen locations, twisting and twirling through the open air in ever more intricate patterns, all the while the pool steadily drained. Thousands of gallons swirled into the air in a complicated display that took ever more of Taylor's focus as she tried to do something far beyond anything she had yet to practice. By the time half the pool was in the air everything beyond the water had slipped into the background as Taylor made it dance. Rainbows glittered in the air as the light was refracted through a thousand shimmering streamers of water. The smell of chlorine was stronger than ever.

Taylor shook her head a bit and frowned as she tried to call up more of the water. Focusing seemed to be getting harder, still there wasn't much left in the pool. Just a little more… a little… one of the streamers slipped, splashing towards the ground before she desperately grabbed it and tried to twist it back up into the dance once more. That led to another sliding from her grasp and in a spectacular chain reaction, as she tried and failed to regain control, the entire display exploded with the force of a small bomb.

The force of the water knocked her back a step and she accidentally inhaled some of it, hacking and coughing as she shook herself. Droplets of water sprayed everywhere, joining the thousands of rivets of water that streamed down the walls and dripped from the ceiling. And the scent of chlorine was absolutely overpowering.

"Are you alright Miss Hebert?" The doctor asked, worriedly.

She turned to the window and waved. "I-" she coughed, spraying a bit or water. "Um, I'm fine." She said, shaking her head. The weight of the water was no longer pressing on her mind, but it seemed to have been replaced by an airiness that seemed to be trying to carry off her thoughts.

"Are you sure?" The doctor repeated.

Taylor nodded absently and swayed for a second. "I'm fine." She said again, though her voice sounded a bit… odd? Was it odd? What was odd? She shook her head. A flicker in the corner of her eye interrupted that line of thought. There was something moving to her side. She turned, catching a glimpse of it. She turned again, it kept moving. She spun, trying to chase it. A giggle came out of her mouth. It was like she was chasing her tail or something, but she wouldn't do that. She was smarter than that.

Then the world went sideways as something got in the way of her feet. She thudded to the ground and blinked up at the ceiling. The lights seemed so bright. She giggled. Bright like Staaaaaaaars~

Something flickered in the corner of her eye and she pounced, her hands closing about its fluffy… soft… She blinked. Oh, it was her tail. She giggled and nuzzled it. Ooh~ It was soft. So soft and fluffy and wonderful.

She barely noticed when her dad knelt down calling her name. She blinked guilelessly up at him before putting her tail into his face. "FLUFFY!" She declared loudly, giggling all the while. She was still giggling to herself as her dad carried her out of the room.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The infirmary on site was a well equipped for dealing with most injuries that occurred on site. Most, not all. There were some things you just could not prepare for. Like, Danny reflected, a giggling and quite clearly high foxgirl who was sitting in the chair beside him snuggling her tails and whispering things like "Who's the fluffiest of them all" and "Fluffy, Fluffy, Fluffy~" every few seconds while giggling.

"Well, this has been an informative day," Glenn said cheerfully from the far corner. The one closest to the door. In a way, Danny had to envy the PRT's Head of PR. He clearly realized just how dangerous a high and barely coherent hydrokinetic could be and had taken the opportunity provided by not being related to said hydrokinetic to secure his exit route. "I think I have more than enough to go on for now."

"We haven't yet gotten to the combat tests yet." His daughter noted, shooting her dad a look that could freeze ice over the top of her tablet.

Of course, there was that little issue for Glenn. Danny smirked and ran his hand through his daughter's hair. She made a purring like noise and nuzzled into his side.

"Well, are we going to? Our young ward is clearly in no shape to continue." The poorly dressed man pointed out.

"This is just another part of the test." The doctor replied simply, looking up from her tablet. "Where is Russel? He should have been here-"

A young man stumbled into the overfilled room. Dressed in a lab coat he had a box under one arm. "Apologies Dr. Chambers. I had to go looking for the brute strength syringes. They weren't in the normal place." He gasped.

"Take a moment to collect yourself then if you wouldn't mind taking a blood sample from Miss Hebert." Dr. Chambers said.

"Yes, yes of course." The man found a chair beside the nurse's desk.

"Bit of a run?" Danny asked him.

"A bit. They were in sub-basement three." He sighed, "The elevator leading down there hasn't worked in a week. They're still trying to figure out what that new gizmo of Armsmaster's did to it."

"Oh?" Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Classified I'm afraid." Dr. Chambers interrupted. The conversation fell away for a couple of minutes before Russel sighed and stood up, his breathing even again as he popped open the box of syringes and pulled on latex gloves.

"Does she have an allergy to latex?" He asked as he adjusted his gloves.

"Not that I'm aware of," Danny said, sparing a glance down at Taylor. She was staring at the syringe with wide dilated eyes. Her eyes twitched back and forth as she stared. He couldn't blame her. The 'syringe' that Russel had pulled out had more in common with a nail gun than a normal syringe.

"Right, that's good to hear. Any fears related to needles?" He asked, loading a magazine into the bottom of the 'syringe'.

The dockworker glanced down at his daughter. "Not until now." He answered honestly as he watched her ears lie flat.

Russel blinked, looked at his gun that wanted to be a medical instrument, then looked to Danny's daughter who was hiding behind her tails. "Erm…" He said.

"NO!" Taylor shook her head. There was a moment of fuzziness and Russel reflexively closed his hand on the syringe gun. There was a loud squeak.

Every eye in the room went to the gun, which was now clearly a plastic squeeze toy. Russel squeezed it again. A high pitched note like a dying duck came out of the end. He carefully set the gun on the desk and reopened the box. "Right let's…" He trailed off as he lifted what was clearly a well crafted, perhaps by hand, wooden statue of his syringe gun. It joined the squeaky toy on the table. He looked back into the box and sighed before lifting out a cardboard cut out with the word 'Syringe' written in messy orange crayon on it.

Turning to his boss he sighed. "Ma'am, I'll need to go get another box." He said simply.

"Don't bother." Dr. Chambers sighed. "I have no idea how she is doing that, but I think it's clear she doesn't want to be stuck with a needle."

Taylor giggled and snuggled with her tails, leaning against Danny as she hummed sleepily.

"Well, as strange as this is, it could be worse," Offered one of Dr. Chambers' other assistants.

"Dare I ask how?" Dr. Chambers asked, resignedly.

"At least nothing is on fire." The same assistant replied.

"Fire?" Taylor perked up from where she was nuzzling one of her own tails. A second later the potted bush in the corner decided to answer a higher calling and burst into flames. Everyone stared for a long second before Taylor giggled. "Burn." She cooed in a tone that was at once adorable, and bone-chillingly terrifying.

As the sprinklers went off Danny sighed. "Any other miracles you would like my daughter to perform Doctor?" He asked sarcastically.

Dr. Chambers pursed her lips. "Perhaps we should move to the firing range. I believe that is non-flammable." She suggested as two of her assistants took fire extinguishers to the bush.

"A sound idea," Glenn said calmly, pocketing his damp notebook. "Let me know when she is no longer high as a kite." With far more dignity than a man dressed like a lost tourist after a bender should have managed he ducked out of the room.

"This way, someone bring a bed and find out where that fox of her's is." Dr. Chambers ordered as she led the way out of the infirmary. Danny followed her. In his arms, Taylor giggled and nuzzled into his side with a sigh, her tails dragging along the floor behind them.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Taylor blinked slowly as the world came back into focus. She yawned sleepily and shook her head. It felt a bit fuzzy. She hummed and nuzzled her pillow, her tails flicking side to side idly. There was a rustle and thump as her blanket hit the ground, exposing her to the cool air. Shivering slight she yawned again and stretched, wriggling as she worked the kinks out of her back before blearily looking around.

This wasn't her room.

Not quite panic set in as she looked about wildly. The room she was in was concrete. The walls, floors, and ceiling, everything was concrete lit with harsh white fluorescent lights spaced evenly around the room. Her frantic look about stopped as she spotted her dad sitting in a chair beside her bed, watching her with a bemused expression. He looked rather… damp. Actually, she felt a bit damp herself, like she'd been soaked in water… recently… oh.

"Finally awake?" Her dad asked.

She nodded, trying to figure out what exactly had happened. "Y-yeah. Um… Where are we?" She asked, looking about. There were a couple of others in the room, including Dr. Chambers and Miss Militia. A moment later she spotted Mrs. Dallon on a laptop at the far end of the long room she was in. Right by the door, in fact.

"How are you feeling Miss Hebert?" Dr. Chambers asked.

"Fine." Taylor shrugged, still looking about. Her dad was here, but where was Inari?

"I told you she would be." There she was, sitting under a table eating a stolen sandwich.

"What happened?" She asked.

Her dad chuckled. "It seems you had a bit of a reaction." He said, reaching over to give her a hug. She returned it, feeling rather confused.

"Um?" She verbalized.

"The chlorine in the swimming pool got you high as a kite," Inari said, snickering around her sandwich.

"What?" Taylor asked, staring at the fox for a long moment before turning to look at Dr. Chambers.

The woman sighed. "There is a documented reaction amongst foxes and certain other animal species with chlorine." She paused, "However, I cannot say for certain that it was the chlorine. We were unable to get a blood sample."

Taylor frowned. "Why?" She asked.

"The last box of brute grade syringes we brought up is over there." The doctor pointed to a scorch mark on the floor about halfway up the room.

"Oh." Did she do that? "Was anyone hurt?" She asked.

"Nothing more than pride in this case. A frequent injury around here." The doctor replied dryly, "Now, are you up to continuing?"

"Continuing? How long was I out?" Taylor asked, stretching and yawning again. She tails flicked back and forth. Her brain was feeling less foggy all the time.

"It has been about an hour since your exposure." The Doctor said, "We still have several things to take measurements on."

"It's barely noon." Her dad said, getting up from his chair.

"Well…" Taylor picked at her damp tank top and frowned as she ran a hand through her hair. "Can I get a shower first?" She asked.

"That can be arranged." Dr. Chambers said with a smile.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A shower and another fresh set of clothes, also taken from the second-floor room, later Taylor stepped into the 'Enhanced Physicality Test Lab' feeling refreshed, though still wrapped in sensors. The room, located on the first floor near the elevator that led to the parkade entrance, was mostly concrete like the firing range, though much smaller. The room was heavily padded in an alternating pattern of red and blue squares. There were training dummies, what appeared to be a hydraulic press large enough for a human to stand inside, and a selection of rather ordinary exercise equipment.

"Taylor, welcome back." Glenn greeted her as she entered the room from where he was sitting by the door. "Feeling better?"

She shrugged, adjusting the new tank top beneath her jacket. "Didn't exactly feel that bad before?" She shrugged. She couldn't recall a thing after her display of water exploded in her face before she woke up on a bed in the firing range. "Not smelling like a pool is probably a good thing though." She'd have to remember to avoid chlorine from now on. No more public swimming pools for her. Not unless she wanted 'interesting things' to happen as her dad put it.

Her dad smiled from where he was chatting with Doctor Chambers and Miss Militia. "Taylor. Feeling better?" He asked.

She sighed. "I'm fine." She said walking up to him. She accepted his hug with an eye-roll. "Hello, Miss Militia." She said.

"Hello, Taylor." The superheroine replied. "Ready to begin?"

Taylor looked about. "I suppose? What are we doing here?" She asked. The room seemed like it combined the first room with a workshop.

"Testing you with equipment that can actually keep up." Dr. Chambers said as she fiddled with her computer interface. "I'm afraid the first room was insufficient to get accurate readings on your capabilities."

"Really?" Taylor blinked as she considered. In hindsight, the run they made her do was a bit easy for what should have been a physical exam.

The doctor looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. "The treadmill you used was designed for top-level athletes. The type who train for the Olympics. Its maximum speed is twenty-five miles an hour. Your run stripped the motors and nearly set the belt on fire."

"Oh…" Taylor blushed. So her run had been something impressive.

"Goooooddess~" Sang Inari from… Taylor glanced around. Where was her 'spirit guide' anyway? She finally spotted the spirit fox hanging out in the booth of scientific equipment… on top of the tallest rack where a couple of assistants were trying to coax her down. Taylor snickered, covering her mouth with a tail.

"You know its true!" Inari pointed a paw at her.

"You keep saying that." She replied, rolling her eyes. Her dad patted her on the shoulder. She glanced over to see him sending severe look to Inari who rolled her own eyes but quieted down. Though not before the fox stuck her tongue out childishly.

"Well, divinity or not this is hardly the first time we've had someone burn out equipment." Dr. Chambers said, "Everything in this room is tinkertech on some level. It is more than capable of taking measurements from even the most superhuman parahumans we have encountered. That includes the likes of Alexandria and the rest of the Triumvirate." The Doctor said, "Now, we are running a bit behind now, so in the interests of time, are you ready to begin?"

"Sure?" Taylor said hesitantly, looking around the room with nervous curiosity. This place was a bit more than she had expected. She was just Taylor, just… She frowned. That wasn't really true anymore, was it? She nibbled her lip as she thought.

"Taylor?" Her dad's voice broke through her introspection.

"Hmm?" She turned to him absently, her tails flicking from side to side, echoing her nervousness.

"We could stop for today if you want?" He offered.

She shook her head. "No, no I'm good." She said, casting away her thoughts. She needed to know what she could do before she started worrying about what she was.

"Very well, let's start with the press test then." Dr. Chambers pointed to the hydraulic press whose top-end disappeared through the ceiling. "Please step under it."

"What is this for?" Taylor asked, eyeing the massive steel block with a bit of worry.

"This is for testing your strength. Tinkertech hydraulics hold it up at present. We will gently lower it onto you until you tell us to stop or we decide you can take no more. We expect you to use your arms. This is not a headbutting test." The Doctor said dryly.

Taylor tilted her head to one side as she tried to guess the weight of the load she hadn't quite stepped beneath. "Has anyone done that?" She asked.

"There are some odd powers out there." The doctor said with a sigh.

"And how heavy is this?" Taylor asked, giving up on guessing since she had no idea how far into the building this went.

"Two hundred and fifty tons of steel. The hydraulics are rated for twice that." The doctor replied absently, "Please step underneath."

"Nothing bad has happened with this test before, has it?" Her dad asked worriedly as Taylor stepped under the giant hammer.

"We go slowly specifically to avoid hurting the participant Mr. Hebert. You have nothing to worry about. The system is technically safe for ordinary people, though vastly overkill for testing an ordinary person." The doctor replied, "Beginning in five."

Taylor looked up at the meter square block of steel above her head and swallowed nervously.

"Four, Three."

She set her feet apart and raised her hands.

"Two."

This was probably going to suck.

"One."

The steel groaned and began to fall. It met her palms with a slap and stopped. It felt light and she was easily able to push it up if she wanted to. That changed rapidly as the weight continued to increase.

"Good, you're doing quite well Taylor." Miss Militia called from where she was looking over the shoulder of the technicians operating the equipment.

"Wha-what am I at?" Taylor asked, gritting her teeth as the sweat started to appear in small drops. The block was really getting heavy.

"Do you really want to know?" Inari snarked before anyone could reply.

Considering for a moment Taylor shook her head no. "Not really?" She offered, readjusting her grip to better push against the giant block of steel. Silence fell except for her strained breathing and the sweat that had started to trickle down her forehead in more than just drops. Finally, she dropped to one knee bracing herself with her tails to keep herself from being pancaked. Her dad shouted in alarm.

"Hold!" Dr. Chambers ordered and the weight disappeared a moment later. The steel block held where it was before retracting into its starting position. "Excellent work Miss Hebert. Approximately fifty-one and three-quarter tons, give or take a couple of pounds."

Taylor blinked as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel that Miss Militia tossed her. "Fifty-one?" She repeated, surprised. She looked down at her hands and formed a fist with a worried expression.

"And three-quarters." The doctor confirmed, "Now, the treadmill. This way."

"I don't see one," Taylor said as she followed the doctor across the room.

"Stand here please." Dr. Chambers directed her to a black metal square in the center of the room.

"This is a treadmill?" Taylor asked as she stepped into the center.

"A Tinkertech one, yes. Turn in on please." The doctor directed the last line to her assistants. There was strange thrum then a snap and a blue forcefield appeared underneath Taylor's feet. She stumbled and felt the floor slide to keep her centred. "Please, feel free to run as fast as you can on it, any direction you wish. The forcefield will try to keep you centred."

Taylor stood up, wobbling as she felt the floor shift under her. "Okay, can I have a second?" She asked. She was still a bit tired from the lifting exercise.

The doctor shook her head. "I'm afraid not. These series of exercises are also meant to test endurance. Please give it your all." She ordered, walking back to her desk.

Sighing, Taylor looked down at the forcefield. She gave it an experimental tap with her toe and watched as it flickered and rippled. It seemed fairly stable. "Any direction?" She asked.

"Any at all." The doctor confirmed.

Taylor glanced about the room and eventually her gaze came to rest on one of those large cushions used to catch gymnasts at the far end of the room where the ceiling abruptly raised in height. If she somehow outran this thing it would probably be better if she ran straight into a cushion rather than a wall or a person. Taking a deep breath she faced the cushion before falling into the start position she'd seen athletes use on tv.

"One." She whispered, "Two… Three." She blasted forward, overshooting the edge of the treadmill before her feet could touch the ground again and slammed into the cushion face first. Bits of foam, leather, and dust sprinkled themselves across the room.

The good news was that the cushion had stopped her, Taylor reflected. The bad news was that she had to drag herself out of the seven-foot deep hole she had dug into the foam-like material, which was on close inspection made of a strange spongy substance that felt damp without being wet. Probably tinkertech like the rest of the room. Who knew how far she would have gone if she had hit something harder.

Popping out of the hole in the cushion she shook herself off, sending more foam and debris around the room. "Was that good enough?" Taylor asked, earning herself a bemused look from the Doctor and a chuckle from Miss Militia. Her dad just looked relieved.

The fox was snickering away on her perch.

"I did say run Miss Hebert, not leap." Dr. Chambers gently reprimanded. Taylor blushed.

"Sorry," Taylor said, walking back to the treadmill.

"You are not the first to have done that." Dr. Chamber sighed, "Perhaps start slowly this time, give the treadmill a chance to keep up?"

"I- Sure." Taylor's blush grew enough that she brought up one of her tails to hide her face as she continued to pick bits of foam out of her hair. She stepped onto the treadmill and let it carry her to the center again.

This time she started off slower, building speed over time. It took a minute, but she reached what felt like the fastest sprint she could manage. She continued running at that speed, sweat pouring off her. Eventually, Dr. Chambers called a halt. She stumbled and slowed, falling to her knees as the treadmill deactivated and placed her back onto the metal sheet that marked the device.

"How, haaaaa, how did I do?" Taylor gasped, her breath coming back to her quickly.

"Quite well, you broke seventy miles an hour, quite well indeed." The Doctor hummed. Taylor blinked, that was a lot faster than she thought she could manage. "Let's see… Just, just the strike tests and jump test and we'll be done with this room. This way please."

Taylor groaned but picked herself up off the floor and followed the doctor to the giant cushion. The original had been hauled out by a forklift and replaced while she was running. She looked up at the ceiling. "So, jump test?" She asked.

"Yes. From a standing start, I want you to jump as high as you can and land on the cushion please." The doctor said, "Stand here." She pointed to an X on the floor beside the cushion.

Standing there Taylor sighed. These tests were hard, but jumping wouldn't be that hard… though... She _had_ just jumped rather hard forward so if she wasn't careful she'd probably smack into the ceiling. She cast a look at the padding that covered the ceiling. Clearly she wasn't the only one to do that. Shrugging, and hoping this wouldn't hurt, she bounced on the ball of her feet as she tried to judge how hard she would need to jump to avoid hitting the ceiling, the issue was she hadn't a clue how hard she could jump in the first place. It wasn't like she'd spent the last week bouncing off the walls back home.

"Oh well." She sighed and bent down, passing the towel she had been using to dry off to Miss Militia who pointedly stepped back right after. Counting down again she pushed off with as much force as she could muster and blasted into the air, flying straight for the ceiling like a ballistic missile.

Instinct led to her twisting in the air so the bottoms of her feet were the first things to hit the padded material of the ceiling. Feet digging into the material she knelt on the ceiling for a full second, staring down at the five-story drop with dread. Sure the fall wouldn't hurt, but just the distance was rather daunting and frankly, she'd rather not watch the ground get closer. Closing her eyes she really wished she didn't have to fall back. Seconds passed. The distinct feeling of air rushing past her failed to appear and the ceiling beneath her feet seemed to still be there.

She opened her eyes and stood up, upside down on the ceiling. She blinked down at the floor and the people standing around the cushion. She frowned and looked up at the ceiling beneath her. An experimental kick to the padding cause her to leave the ceiling behind for one very heartstopping moment of terror before Taylor realized something. She was floating, unattached to walls, or floors, or even the ceiling she had just been standing on like it was the ground.

"ARE YOU ALRIGHT TAYLOR?" Her dad called up.

She nodded, then realized it would probably be hard for them to recognize it. "Um… Yeah, just…" She trailed off as she looked around, unconsciously turning on the spot. "How do I get down?" She called back. There was silence as the group below conferred.

Finally, Mrs. Dallon sighed and stepped away from the group. "Try wanting to come down." She called up to Taylor.

Well, that wasn't exactly helpful, Taylor did want to come down. Being stuck on the ceiling like a superglued Christmas ornament wasn't exactly what she would call a life goal of hers. Still… She frowned and tried to imagine getting back to the ground as she floated in the air, slowly turning like a misaligned disco ball. Idly she wondered if Alexandria had had this sort of issue at first. It took a bit, but eventually, something clicked inside her and she, wobbling the entire way, managed to float down to the ground.

Taylor had a second to sigh happily before her dad scooped her into a hug. "Dad!" She protested.

"You had me worried Little Owl." He said.

She sighed. "I don't think a fall like that would have hurt… too much at least." She said.

"You would have been entirely fine I believe." Dr. Chambers said, "Interestingly, I suppose the question is no longer how far you can jump, is it?"

"Flying kinda makes jumping rather pointless, doesn't it?" Taylor replied thoughtfully, a grin forming. As scary as that had been, it was mainly due to the surprise. This, she had always wanted to be like Alexandria. Now she could say that she had the classic package of powers. She giggled, burying a face into her tails.

"Now," Dr. Chambers interrupted again after a minute, "We do need to finish up. I can say with certainty that your endurance is quite good. Now, striking power. Please come over to the training dummies." She turned and walked over to the heavily padded training dummies lined up along one wall.

Taylor made to followed, but sighed as she realized her dad was hanging onto her for dear life. "I'm fine dad." She said quietly, "Really. I was more surprised than scared."

"I know. I know." He sighed and let her go. He gave her a wane smile. "The right of a parent, hmm."

She gave him a quick hug before heading over to join the doctor. "The last bit?" She asked.

"For this room." The Doctor replied.

"And how much more is there?" Taylor asked.

"In theory, one other set of tests. All related to your less physical abilities. We have a few puzzles, quizzes, and theoretical problems for you to tackle. Then we just need to test the effects of your known powers, such as your ability to control water, against a few targets to determine how capable they are. We have something optional after that. Now, the target here. Please punch it as hard as you can. Once I'm away." That clarified the doctor beat a retreat back to her booth where the other adults had moved to.

Looking the dummy over Taylor sighed and drew back a fist. There had been a time, many years ago, where Taylor had gotten into a fight while at school. It had ended with her getting sent home with a black eye and several bruises that took weeks to go away. While her dad was furious at the time it had been her mother who had taken her aside and had shown her a few small things. Like how to throw a punch. It wasn't much, really it had nothing on proper martial arts, but it had been enough to cheer her up at the time.

She slammed her fist into the face of the dummy with the exact form her mother had shown her years before and watched as the top half of the dummy disintegrated.

"Good, how is your hand?" The doctor asked.

"Fine." It didn't even hurt a little.

"Excellent. Please kick the next one. Hard as you can." The second dummy lost its head before a second strike blew the torso off the heavy concrete stand. Taylor stared. Well, this was definitely driving home how ridiculous her strength was, as if she wasn't worried about it before.

"Good, good. Now, with your tails." Taylor's head snapped around to the booth.

"What?" She asked. Her tails?

"Your tails, they are large enough to be a weapon. Please, use them to strike the dummy." The doctor gestured to the third dummy.

Taylor walked up to the next one and frowned. It was one thing to say 'hit it with your tails' but how exactly? She whipped a tail forward awkwardly, stopping it before it struck. No, using them like that just felt awkward and might get in the way… She frowned and tapped her bottom lip with a nail. How could she… oh. She tilted her head to the side, ears twitching as she thought. She mimed twisting on the spot, her tails swaying with her hips. Perhaps that could work.

Stepping back a couple feet she took a deep breath then bounded forward, twisting into a spin that brought the collected weight of her tails to bear on the dummy. If her punch had been violent, and her kicks brutal, the strike with her tails was simple overkill. As the dust settled Taylor stared at the spot where there had been a test dummy… and the holes in the wall where the debris from it had shotgunned through the concrete and steel-reinforced structure without slowing down. In the distance, an alarm went off. It turned off a few moments later after Glenn pulled out his cell phone and made a call.

Taylor's tails twitched back and forth as she stared. They didn't hurt, but it was rather clear whoever was on the end of that strike would be lucky to be buried in one piece. "Well," She said in a choked voice with forced cheer. "That worked well." She turned to the booth.

"Are we done here?" She asked with a falsely bright tone that she realized probably fooled no one by the way the doctor just raised an eyebrow at her.

"We have what we need for now." The doctor confirmed, unplugging her tablet from the system. "Now, we have a few tests waiting. Please, this way." She led the way out as her assistants descended on the hole in the wall with tape measures and scanning devices.

With a look back at the wall, and the fact that it now resembled swiss cheese, Taylor quickly followed, quietly wondering if she would be charged for all the damaged she seemed to be doing.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The tests and puzzles took up less time than Taylor expected, though it wasn't because she magically understood them well enough to complete them. Each one was, as the examiner had said, 'intended to test for superhuman intelligence by placing unachievable scholastic goals on an individual'. There were a few odd logic puzzles and creative problem-solving questions. She actually managed a couple of those somehow, though that wasn't anything unheard of apparently. More than a few non-parahumans happened to be good enough to manage in those areas.

Still, the evening was just beginning as she followed Dr. Chambers out of the back doors of the facility into the enclosed park beyond. A tall concrete fence enclosed the yard on three sides, tall enough even the nearby office buildings couldn't see over, and the facility itself formed the last wall with a windowless side. The yard had a large pond, a track field and a small forest's worth of trees along the back. A permanent concrete bunker sat in the middle and it was there that the Doctor led Taylor and the rest.

Dr. Chambers stopped by the bunker door where a pair of PRT Troopers in full gear, including the face-concealing helmets, stood guard. She turned to the group. "It has been a long day, however, we do have two tests left to attempt. The first we had planned to attempt in the swimming pool, however, after the unforeseen events that occurred I have decided that it may be better to perform it out here with the pond instead." She said.

Inari snickered from Taylor's shoulder where she had retreated once they had stopped trying to poke and prod her with various devices. "They could have asked me about how that would go." She whispered to Taylor who rolled her eyes.

"And why would they?" She whispered back.

The fox, on her shoulders shrugged. "They could have~" She sang softly before quieting down as the doctor glanced their way.

"Over there," The doctor continued, pointing to a group of workmen were working with sheets of metal and cinder blocks. "They are setting up targets for Miss Hebert to try and damage. Miss Hebert, we would like you to make use of water for this test. Try and use it to break the sheets. You have as many tries as you feel you need."

Taylor nodded, frowning at the metal sheets. Some of them had to be several inches thick. Break them with water? Could she do that?

"Pressurized water can cut rather well," Inari whispered to her and she nodded. Maybe she could then, though again maybe not. She hadn't practiced hurting things with water over the last week.

"Miss Militia, please escort Miss Hebert to her starting position. Everyone else, please come with me inside." Dr. Chambers ordered before turning to the guards and showing her ID.

"This way Taylor." Miss Militia said, doing this thing with her eyes that seemed to imply she was smiling. Taylor fell in beside her as they slowly walked across the yard. "So, how have you been finding things?" The older heroine asked.

Taylor blinked and tilted her head. "Tiring I guess." She said after a moment.

"Well, you have been running around for the last eight hours," Inari said, yawning far too close to Taylor's ear for her comfort. She flicked the fox's nose, getting a yelp and grumbling in response.

"Power testing always is. Though I will admit today has been a bit more exciting than usual." Miss Militia said with a chuckle. "You have certainly surprised us quite a bit. Brute, mover, shaker, blaster, master, and trump. There are very few people with as diverse a powerset as you have shown today."

Taylor blushed and fidgeted. Inari made a snuffling noise and buried her nose in Taylor's shoulder, twitching a little. "Thank you." She said awkwardly. The conversation fell silent until they reached the spot.

"You know I'm surprised." Miss Militia said, watching the workmen finish up.

"About?" Taylor asked.

"You never asked for a mask." The Heroine said, looking at her curiously.

She shrugged, her ears twitching. "Well, I can't exactly hide can I?" She asked rhetorically.

Miss Militia turned her attention to Taylor's tails before her gaze slid up to her ears. "No, I suppose not. How are you handling it?" She gestured to the extra appendages that were swaying behind her.

"It's been okay." She said, wondering why they were having this conversation out here on what amounted to a firing range. "Not sure how well I'll do with the whole crime-fighting thing, but…" Sure she sometimes had the urge to lash out at Emma and Sophia, but that always ran into the fact that doing so would have led to consequences from both the school and what the two would have done to her in response.

"I think you'll do fine. You're going into this with a much better outlook on it than most do." Miss Militia replied, patting her on the head, getting a blush from her. "At least you didn't try dressing up in spandex before running off to fight gangsters in the middle of the night." Taylor's blush doubled at the thought of running around the docks in spandex of all things. Oh god, the embarrassment of wearing something so revealing would kill her.

Miss Militia chuckled. "Looks like they're done." She nodded to workmen who were packing up their things. "I better get over to the bunker. Try not to punch too many holes into the landscape while I'm gone, would you?" The older heroine chuckled at the mortified look Taylor set her before walking back to the bunker.

"Well," Inari said thoughtfully, "I like her."

Taylor glanced over at her advisor and, with great dignity, pushed the fox off her shoulder. "You would, she has your sense of humour." She sighed, still blushing.

"Miss Hebert." Dr. Chambers' voice echoed over the yard, "You are clear to proceed." A glance around confirmed that the workmen were booking it at a dead sprint out of the firing area. They probably had experience with wards and poor aim.

"Pressurized water, hmm?" Taylor asked Inari, tapping a nail against her lip thoughtfully while looking at the plates. Well, they hadn't said she couldn't get closer to them, though they probably wanted to know how accurate she could be as well.

"I've seen it used for cutting before," Inari replied, scratching the dirt out of her fur. But that would require her to compress water, wouldn't it? She seemed to recall something in her science class about that being impossible, or at least very, very difficult.

Taylor reached out to the lake and pulled a stream of water from it, just the one. She wasn't showing off now, this was different than a display of her control, though perhaps not. Volume wasn't the issue, precision was. She brought an orb of water the size of a family car over to her. Compared to the pool from earlier it didn't weigh on her mind the same way. She reached a hand out towards it in a gesture to help her focus and slowly squeezed, applying her will to the water before her.

A ripple ran around the orb. Then another. It quivered and shook like the surface of the sea in a storm, but it shrank. She could feel the force that was restraining the water's natural inclination to take up as much space as possible as it pushed back against her. It pressed on her mind like she was holding a far greater volume than she had called up. She pushed more. The orb shrank, wavering erratically as it reached the volume of a basketball. It quivered, a spot bulging before flowing back to the roughly smooth orb it had been. This was her limit. For now.

Now she just had to direct the forces. She looked passed orb to the steel plates. Feeling the orb she made a guess and imagined a line from the orb to the first plate on the left. Then, picturing that line in her mind, she pulled on the orb, drawing from it a stream of water that tracked back along that path. The orb vanished in an instant, the entire pressurized orb of water flooding down the pathway she had created faster than she could have imagined. There was a loud bang and the first plate flew into the air, spinning end over end until it crashed to earth a hundred feet from where it had started. The angle kept her from spotting the damage to the plate, but she could see the man-sized gouge that was ripped straight through the backstop.

She breathed out and stretched. That had been hard, but she could do it again.

"Nice shot!" Inari cheered, bouncing on the spot. "A beautiful first strike by my lovely apprentice!" Taylor rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless.

"Are you able to continue Miss Hebert?" Dr. Chambers asked from the bunker. In response, Taylor called up another orb of water. She came here for practice, now she had it.

With the second target, she tried splitting the strike in two in an effort to punch two holes through the metal plate. The orb destabilized before she managed to project more than half the contents downrange. The force was still more than enough to send the target flying, but it was clear she needed more practice before she could try something like that again.

The third she tried walking the strike across the surface of the target. Again, her efforts to control the sphere rather than let it expend itself in a single strike led to it falling apart, splattering the ground with pond water. Still, she had gotten more than half downrange and it had managed to carve a line on the target. She continued to improve with each target until, with the last one, she managed to draw a very shaky happy face on it.

She even managed to do it while there was still light in the sky.

"Well done Miss Hebert." The loudspeaker crackled, pulling her attention to the bunker. "I assume you have no other means of attacking from range, yes?" She nodded, certain she wouldn't be heard. "As expected. Please, turn your attention to the track field."

Turning Taylor found a couple of workmen finishing setting up some pillows in the center grass. They waved and left. "You have reported that you discovered your hydrokinesis while trying to summon lightning. Your father tells us that you have held off on attempting to summon it out of fear of the damage it would cause to your home. We would like to take this opportunity to observe the method by which you discovered your hydrokinesis and offer you an opportunity to practice without setting your house on fire."

Taylor twitched. She had thought about what might have happened if she had summoned lightning in her house more than once. In hindsight, it really hadn't been a smart move.

"Well, let's go," Inari said, trotting off towards the pillows. With a sigh, Taylor followed her, stretching as she did so. She picked at her tank top. Somehow, despite it only being six hours since lunch, it was feeling tight like it had shrunk or something. Then again, that was a problem she had been having for days so really nothing new.

A yawn worked its way out. "Bleh. This has been going on for way too long." She groaned as they reached the pillows.

"Hey, we're almost done," Inari said, taking a seat on a smaller pillow set to the side. "Are you ready to try bringing forth lightning again?"

"Hmm…" Taylor hummed, sitting cross-legged as she leaned back to look up at the clear twilight sky. The sun was hovering on the edge of disappearing, casting the world into shades of purple and orange. "Today has been a day of firsts for me I guess. Figured out how to fly."

"You figured out how to float. Flying is going to take a lot of practice." Inari replied, "Just like you've had to practice with controlling water."

"Hmm… I guess." She sighed and straightened, closing her eyes. "Right, lightning…"

"Lightning, think of electricity, of energy flowing from place to place in arcs and lines. Jagged, sharp and sudden…" Inari said, her voice weaving a description of lightning into the air. It sounded right to Taylor as she tried to find the same feeling as had led to her revelation concerning the Sea. They sat there for fifteen minutes before Inari fell silent, a frown on her face unnoticed by Taylor.

"Are we sure I have lightning powers?" Taylor asked after another ten minutes.

"I know what I saw." Inari said, "They bounced between those fluffy clouds of yours."

Taylor snorted, pulling a tail into her lap to run a hand through as she thought. "They really are soft and fluffy like everyone wishes clouds were." She smirked, sighing as she ran a hand through the long hairs of her tail.

"Yep." Inari sighed.

They fell silent again as Taylor continued to pet one of her own tails. It really was like a cloud… Cloud? Something tickled Taylor's mind. Clouds. Lightning was always depicted as coming from the clouds. The physics of it weren't the exact same, but the symbolism was always a bolt from a cloud.

Her hands stilled.

Lightning came from clouds, but clouds were never in the state to create it unless there was a storm. Lightning was the fury of the storm, crashing to the ground to venting the rage of the beast into the cold earth. Had they been thinking about this wrong?

A gust of wind rolled through the yard, ruffling her loose hair and tickling her ears.

Storms, what did she know of storms? She knew the rains that came with them, Brockton Bay always had at least one storm a month even in august. Usually, a lot more and the rain could come down in sheets so thick you couldn't even see. An ocean in the sky. The currents of air that pushed the clouds across the sky, driving them across the world like shepherds with their flocks of sheep.

Something rumbled in the distance as another gust of wind rumbled through the yard, the air it carried biting with the chill of the early evening and the hint of something heavier.

The storm was heralded by its hounds. The winds, rushing across the surface of the world, grasping, clinging and pulling at whatever they came across. Beasts with no jaws, but so many teeth that they could not be counted. They swept across the land, through every crack and every crevice, smacking into every window and stealing everything they could from paper to your heat.

Drops of water splattered across her nose.

She knew the thunder, the drummers that followed the winds, shaking the world with every strike of lightning, letting all know the rage of their master. The storm.

Taylor stood up, her eyes still closed, and her tails spread out pointing to the sky as a biting wind lashed at her. Drops of water ran down her form in rivets even as she turned her head skyward. She could smell energy in the air, a harsh acrid smell that resonated with something.

She knew little of lightning, but then what mistress needed to know the intricacies of her weapon. She was not lightning. She did not flash and jump. She did not arc and crackle. She laughed, her voice booming across the sky as her hounds nipped at the heels of those beneath. As her army blotted out the sun and the moon and drowned the world beneath.

Taylor opened her eyes as the world turned white, lightning binding earth to storm as hurricane winds pounded the yard, ripping branches from trees and sending waves splashing through the pond. For five seconds the world was cast into shadows as lightning arced from tail to tail to and back again before arcing into the sky and repeating the process. Then the shadows retreated as the might of the storm dissipated. The winds grew weak and the rain slowed to a drizzle.

Taylor blinked, looking down at her tails as sparks leapt from hair to hair and from tail to tail. She held out a hand and they jumped from her tails to it, bouncing and bounding playfully about it before she closed it and with a brief application of will the bounding arcs of electricity faded.

She shook her head. She felt tired. Tired, wet, and cold. But she had done it.

"Well." Taylor glanced up to find Inari slinking back through the rain. "Do I need to run for cover again?" The fox spirit asked.

"I think you'll be fine Inari." Taylor sighed, shivering a little. "I'm cold." She complained.

"Well, come on. Let's go tell them they can stop worrying about getting zapped then." Inari said, hopping onto Taylor's shoulder. "Well done girl." She said into Taylor's ear. "I should have guessed storm, you're not subtle enough to be lightning."

"Do you want me to push you to the ground?" Taylor asked as she trudged towards the bunker.

"You know you love me." Was the fox's only reply.

When they reached the bunker they found the guards still standing outside. One was still looking straight ahead, the other was staring at her as though she had just grown another head. "Um, can I go in?" She asked, holding up her guest pass. The two guards looked at each other before one tapped the intercom.

"Doctor," The man said, "Miss Hebert is-"

"Let her in." The Doctor interrupted him.

"Yes, ma'am." He looked over at Taylor as he scanned his pass. "Impressive show."

She blushed. "Didn't mean it to be." She mumbled as she slipped in the door.

Inside the bunker, the room she found herself in was a mere hallway lined on either side with racks of glowing lights. The bunker was warm compared to outside and she sighed happily. "Taylor." She looked up to find her dad looking at her from the one door in the hallway of electronic equipment.

"Dad." She said happily, half-walking half-stumbling over to him. She fell into his arms and hummed happily. "Tired." She said simply.

"You gave us a bit of a scare." He said soothingly as he led her into the next room. Inside was a spartan observation room with tables, chairs, a pair of vending machines, a coffee pot and a microwave. By the window were a couple of desks with computers. The Doctor was there leaning over the shoulder of a subordinate.

"Srry." She mumbled, yawning loudly. Gods, that had taken it out of her.

"An impressive display Miss Hebert." Dr. Chambers said, cracking a smile as she flicked through something on her tablet. "I've never heard of weather manipulation on this scale from a parahuman before."

"Gooooddess~" Inari sang.

Taylor couldn't even muster the energy to conceive a protest to the fox's declaration as her dad led her to a chair and wrapped her in a blanket an assistant handed him.

"You managed to create, seemingly from nothing, a hurricane-strength storm front five miles in diameter centred here." The doctor continued. "Thankfully it seems to have been short lived."

"Hm…" Taylor yawned, tuning out the discussion going on around her as she snuggled into her blanket and tails. It would be ten minutes before anyone other than her dad realized she had fallen asleep.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Glenn Chambers sighed as he sat down in the familiar chair inside the director's office. He ignored the annoyed look that Piggot was sending him as he counted off the participants in this day's meeting. Armsmaster and Miss Militia were standing and sitting respectively in their own little corner. Director Costa-Brown was attending again via teleconference, and his daughter was sitting six feet to his left.

The daughter he hadn't realized was in Brockton Bay. What the hell was she doing here anyway? This place was a disaster away from true anarchy on a good day. On a bad, it was just a sneeze away. She was supposed to be in New York, away from this madness.

"We are all gathered here for a very obvious reason." Piggot began, "Dr. Chambers would you kindly explain why you allowed a child to summon a hurricane over My city." You could hear the capitalization in the word. He scowled. This was not his daughter's fault.

"It is the standard policy to test all known powers to their limits so long as it does not endanger personnel or expose the facility involved to undue risk." His daughter said matter-of-factly as she glared back at the director. "At no point, were we left with the impression that Miss Hebert's abilities could create such a phenomenon. Had we suspected we would have never proceeded with the exercise. It does, however, display the potential power that Miss Hebert could one day bring to bear."

"One day? She summoned up a hurricane during rush hour. Of all the reckless, thoughtless and hairbrained things she could have done, this-" Piggot shouted.

"Enough Emily." Director Costa-Brown snapped. "I have a copy of Dr. Chambers' report in front of me. Are you certain she had no control during this 'awakening'?"

"Positive." His daughter said, "She showed no signs of awareness until after the lightning faded. At which point it seemed to be as under control as her hydrokinesis. Or at least as much as I can assume based on the small sample size. And we have seen this phenomenon before when Taylor originally learned how to control water. At the time she created water out of thin air before forming it into a ball. She hasn't displayed that ability since. While her control of water has apparently vastly increased in comparison to what it was reportedly a week ago. It strikes me that we may be seeing manifestations of her powers that more closely resemble what she will be capable of when she masters her abilities."

"That is not comforting," Piggot growled. "We have a child with a companion who is whispering into her ear that she is a god at all times of the day and night. A child capable of summoning hurricanes from nowhere and throwing water about with enough force to punch through three inches of steel plating."

"And what if I decided to go to a crowded mall and summon a machine gun." Miss Militia said, drawing everyone's attention. "I kept a close eye on her as the events proceeded. She seems… conflicted. On one hand, her powers excite her like they do any young parahuman, but on the other, she shows signs of nervousness whenever their destructive power is demonstrated. When I talked with her just before the plate test she expressed a lack of confidence in her ability to handle the violence that is often part of our job. This isn't the mindset of a mass murderer. She's a child who has come to us for help. Failing to give it simply because of what she could do…" The heroine shook her head. "We're better than that."

"And helping young parahumans control their powers is precisely what the Wards was created for." Armsmaster said, "She has done what we wish so many others would."

Piggot frowned but nodded. She turned to Glenn. "Well," She said, "It looks like you won't have to worry about her being too weak. Any idea of how you're going to sell the world that a walking hurricane is the next great hero?"

Glenn chuckled and looked down at the pad in his lap where a heavily detailed sketch of a young woman with foxtails sat completed. "I had a hand coming up with a few things I think that'll help sell her to the world." He said confidently, absently touching up the skirting of the image with a flick of his pen. "We just need to wait for her to stop growing. If the set of clothing we gave her lasts the week I'll be surprised."

"Her rate of growth is impressive." His daughter nodded, "And an issue. If it continues at the rate we've seen we could see medical issues inside of three weeks unless it stops."

"We can only hope that won't be an issue," Glenn said, sighing. "Now, I have a few prototypes I need to get making. I've got colours to match, patterns to experiment with, and a small army of product reps to wrangle. Do you still need me?" He asked.

"Director?" Piggot prodded the woman on the other end of the line.

"I think we're good here Emily." Their superior said.

"Excellent. I'll show myself out then." Glenn waved his pad at Piggot and stood up. He paused for a second beside his daughter's chair, then kept moving. There was a time and a place for questions. This wasn't it.

His mind was already back on the sketch in his hand as the door closed behind him.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A/N: And a thank you to  Gekkou_Yoko for being my editor again.

Hello everyone~ *Fluffy Tails wave* I hope you've enjoyed this extra-large chapter of The Taste of Peaches. If you did please consider supporting me on , search Grounders10, or join us on my discord. You can find the link on my , or in my signature on Sufficient Velocity or Spacebattles. TTP is a story I've quite enjoyed writing so far and I'll be sure to write more in the future. *Happy Kitsune*


	6. Chapter 6

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A Worm Fanfic

The Taste of Peaches

By: Grounders10

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6

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Three hundred channels and nothing to watch. Victoria grumbled as she floated upside down over the couch. She jabbed, gently, the next channel button and sighed. Make that three hundred and one channels of nothing to watch. She flipped the channel again. Three oh two channels.

Victoria Dallon was bored, completely, utterly, unbelievably bored. The sort of boredom that could drive a normally level headed rational girl to things like trying to find a tv show to watch, after having already flicked through the entire five hundred listed channels and failed to find anything, while floating upside down. It was, she had to admit, not exactly making the shows any more interesting than when they were the right side up.

Further boredom, and the possible repercussions of her efforts to alleviate it was put on hold when the front door of the house banged open. "I'm home!" Her mother called as she entered.

"Welcome home Mom!" She called back, floating over the couch towards the doorway to the kitchen. "How were things at the test centre?" She asked as she entered the kitchen. Her mother was already there, shucking her coat off onto the back of a chair.

"You know I can't tell you." Her mother replied.

"Awww, Mooooom." Victoria pouted. It was a nice pout, well-practiced and capable of winding her boyfriend around her finger nearly every time.

It went without saying that her mother was not her boyfriend.

"Where is your sister?" Her mother asked as she opened the refrigerator, completely ignoring the devastating pout levelled in her direction.

"Responding to something at the hospital. Dad's with her." Vicky sighed, abandoning the pout since it had clearly failed its duty. "Amy wanted me to come." She added.

"You are grounded." Her mother replied, pulling out the Tupperware with the leftovers of that night's dinner.

"I know." Vicky groaned, "I'm booooooored." She pouted again.

Her mother snorted and walked passed her to the microwave. "Then maybe next time you won't fly into a billboard while texting on your phone." She replied after setting the timer on the microwave. It whirred to life with a hum as her mother turned back to her.

"And Dean won't be available tomorrow," Vicky grumbled. This was the last day of her grounding, and frankly, she couldn't be happier. If only there was someone to celebrate that fact with, like her boyfriend who she had been texting when she floated into the billboard.

A ring from her mother's cellphone interrupted them. With a sigh, Carol retrieved it from her purse and, with one eyebrow raised at the flip phone's caller ID, answered it. "Hello, Danny." She said.

Danny? Oh, that was her mom's new client, the one she refused to say anything about. Vicky surreptitiously floated closer. Her mother took a step around the island countertop, keeping the distance open.

"Yes, I'm sure. Tomorrow is completely booked… I see." Her mother nodded, frowning. "Yes, that would leave her alone there. I understand, but this meeting has been scheduled for six weeks. Yes…" Her mother frowned as she tapped her fingers on the countertop. "You may just have to cancel tomorrow." She paused, her eyes sliding from where they had been staring at the far wall towards Vicky. They narrowed in that way that she had long learned mean her mom had just had an idea.

"Mom?" Vicky asked warily, floating back towards the living room.

"One second Danny," Carol said before turning to her daughter. "Victoria, you said you had nothing to do tomorrow?"

"Yeah?" She replied with a raised eyebrow of her own.

"Good." Her mother went back to the phone. "I have an idea, Danny. Would it be alright if my daughter Victoria met her at the testing centre… The tests don't require our presence, just your consent. You already signed off on the list earlier… I'm sure your girl could use someone her own age… Well yes, she is a couple of years older, but your daughter has been cooped up since this started with only that fox to talk to."

Fox? Vicky tilted her head to the side. So, Danny's daughter was going to the testing centre and couldn't otherwise see people? And was a couple of years younger than herself. That sounded like someone trying to become a Ward. Dean had been rather cagey with his responses when she tried to talk him into going out tomorrow, so maybe it was something to do with this? Maybe he was helping?

"And Taylor has no power to sign anything at the moment, so that isn't something you need to worry about Danny. The PRT isn't going to risk things at this juncture, especially after today's display. Danny, please, as your Lawyer I am advising you that you are being paranoid. Yes. Yes. Not legal even if she was of age… Yes. Good, I'll make sure to drop her off on my way in then. Excellent. Have a good night Danny I'll see you on Thursday for the next round of negotiations." She closed her flip phone with a final click.

"Soooo, I'm going to meet a new Ward?" Vicky asked, smirking at the startled look her mother sent her.

Carol sighed. "Too smart by half sometimes," She chuckled. "Yes, you are. Taylor Hebert, she's got quite the range of powers. We just need someone to be with her through testing. I have that meeting with the Shindler's and apparently something urgent has come up at the Docks for Danny."

"The docks?"

"Danny is the hiring manager for the DWU. With how many people they've lost over the years he basically runs it these days." She replied, retrieving her food from the microwave. "Now, a few things you should know about tomorrow."

As her mother started going over the list of expected tests that they had signed off on Vicky buried a sigh. Tomorrow was going to be a long day, but maybe if she was lucky she'd get to see Dean. Either way, hopefully, Taylor could be a friend. There just weren't enough female heroes in the Bay.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"And the total damage of last night's freak hurricane continues to mount with damages forecasted to top a hundred and fifty million dollars before this afternoon." The news anchor said, pointing to a chart beside him.

Taylor groaned as she nibbled on her breakfast of eggs, bacon, cereal and toast. "I fucked up." She grumbled to Inari.

The fox scoffed. "A Goddess coming into her power will always create a display, Taylor." She said.

Taylor nodded, then stopped mid-bite. Swallowing, she turned an annoyed look on Inari. "So what would have happened to the house if I had figured out how to do that in the house?" She asked pointedly.

Inari had the decency to look guilty. "I'll admit," she said, "I underestimated how big the display would be. I've coached many young godlings, over the years, however, they were all demigods at the end of the day. This was… It was a mistake I will try not to make again. I must remember that you are a Goddess, not a Demigoddess. Coming into your powers will bring forth far greater displays than a meagre demigod."

"Again with the goddess," Taylor muttered, frowning at the tv as the news station continued covering the

"You still don't believe it," Inari observed. The fox's tail flicked to the side.

"Parahumans are weird." She replied.

"You saw the fortress, you walked its halls. You climbed the mountain." Her guide replied, "You felt it beneath your feet and ran your hands over the statues left behind."

"Did I?" Taylor poked her bacon with her fork. "It just… Did I? Or did I just hallucinate the entire thing? I mean…" The world, despite its impossibility, had felt so real. But… Her train of thought derailed when Inari booped her nose with a paw.

"Denial is such a silly thing from a Goddess, you know?" Inari smirked, "If you doubt its existence, then we'll just need to go back there."

"Can we?" Taylor frowned. "I don't even know how I got there in the first place."

"Then we will need to work on that. I know Ammy told you would know it when you needed it, but I think we need to be there sooner rather than later. Don't you?" Inari observed.

Taylor nodded, chewing her lip as she thought. "Yeah…"

Inari tipped her head to the side. "But that isn't the root cause of your doubt, is it?" She said, sighing. "You've been bombarded with the exploits of parahuman all your life. You see them on cereal boxes." She pointed to the Alexandria themed cereal box on the table. "You hear about them on the news, in the paper, on the street. The heroes, and the villains, with powers that are utterly impossible for a normal human to repeat. That you have powers, yet aren't one of these people… It seems so utterly impossible."

Taylor frowned but nodded hesitantly. That sounded… right. Though... Her ears flicked in irritation.

Inari nodded wisely. "We'll work on that. You know how your own powers feel, I can promise you that a parahuman's powers are very different. Maybe when we see Miss Militia or Battery or one of the others next you can ask them and compare." She suggested.

"If they'll answer." Taylor sighed. Something like that had to count as personal and really 'how does your power feel' just sounded like one of those creepy questions a stalker would ask.

"We'll see," Inari said, crunching on a bit of cereal. Taylor blinked and looked down at her bowl. Despite her having stopped halfway through it had been licked clean.

"INARI!" She growled and the fox spirit laughed even as she jumped off the table to evade Taylor's lunge. Five minutes later Danny entered the room to find Taylor sitting at the table eating another bowl of cereal while a morose Inari hung from a hand of water in the air beside her.

"Ungrateful…" Inari muttered.

Taylor hummed and smirked. "Don't take my food." She replied before looked up at her dad. "Good morning~" She said cheerfully, drawing a smile from him.

"Good morning, Taylor." He said, giving her a hug as he raised an eyebrow at the white fox. Inari looked up at him with a soulful expression of sorrow.

"Save me?" She asked hopefully. He chuckled.

"Be glad she's happy with just this." He said, giving the fox a pat on the head before moving off to the coffee machine. He ignored the look of exaggerated betrayal Inari sent him. "I'm surprised you're up so early." He said to Taylor.

Taylor shrugged. "I've been up for over an hour, when did I fall asleep last night?" She asked.

"Pretty much the moment you got to the table." Danny said, "You were snoring in seconds."

She flushed. "I don't snore." She said.

"Nope, she doesn't," Inari confirmed from where she was hanging. "She purrs instead."

Taylor glared at the fox while her dad chuckled. "Get used to hanging." She sniffed and went back to her cereal.

"Well, it's good you're up so soon," Danny said as he plundered the bacon she had left on the stove. "After you passed out, they asked you to come back in today."

Taylor paused. "Today today?" She asked, glancing down at the clothes she was wearing. They were the same ones she had put on after the chlorine incident. She gave herself a sniff and frowned. She needed a shower.

"Yep. The pick up will be in about… three hours or so, around ten." Her dad said, noticing her frown. "More than enough time for a shower. I put the bags with your new stuff by the foot of your bed."

"Oh." That would explain why she hadn't noticed anything when she stumbled out of bed earlier. She took another spoonful of cereal. "I'll do that once I'm done with this then." She said, "So you'll be coming in as well?"

"No, I won't be." He frowned. "There're a few things down at the office I need to take care of today. Carol won't be meeting you there either. She has an appointment with one of her firm's big clients today."

"Oh. So I'll be on my own then?" Taylor sighed.

"Oi! I'll be there." Inari said, waving a paw. A tail came up and laid itself across her muzzle as Taylor looked at her dad expectantly.

"Not exactly. Carol will be dropping off her eldest daughter there today. She's been through this before." Danny said.

"Glory Girl is going to be there?" Taylor squeaked. The hand holding Inari up popped, soaking the fox with water before she bounced off the floor. Standing up with all the regality that a wet fox could muster Inari ran out of the kitchen trailing a line of water behind her.

"I did say Carol's eldest." Her dad replied, sipping his coffee. He smiled. "Don't worry about it too much, Little Owl. You'll do fine." He said, walking over and hugging her. "You did brilliantly yesterday."

She sighed and leaned into it. "Did I?" She asked. "Everything kept breaking."

"Which was what was supposed to happen for a lot of that equipment. They expect testing to be hard on the equipment Taylor." He chuckled.

"I got high." She mumbled into his shoulder.

"And Armsmaster temporally dislocated one of the elevator shafts." Her dad replied.

Taylor blinked. "What?" She asked, trying to process that.

"When I asked how things could have been worse Dr. Chambers had a few, amusing examples to give." Danny chuckled, taking the seat next to her. "Apparently Armsmaster tried to experiment with some technology they had seized a while back from a minor Tinker villain. Something about making an elevator that would deliver you to your destination before you arrived."

"That's… not possible." Taylor frowned. Time travel, reverse time travel, had been conclusively proven to not be possible, at least that's what Mr. Gladly had said.

"Well, now the elevator takes anywhere between six seconds and six hours to travel between floors," Danny said. Taylor snickered.

"Oops."

"Yeah. They're waiting on some Tinker from Canada who specializes in this sort of thing to come down and sort it out." Her dad chuckled before stealing her last piece of bacon.

"HEY!" Taylor pouted. First her spirit fox, now her dad. What was next? Was a bird going to fly in and steal her toast? She stuffed the last piece of toast, whole, into her mouth and glared at her chuckling dad. He patted her on the head, ignoring her glare, before going back to his not stolen meal. Ignoring the way her tails flicked irritably side to side.

She would have her revenge for these thefts. It would be slow, steady, and deliberate, but most of all, it would be delicious.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The ride over to the test facility was a bit nicer than it had been the day before when it was still dark outside, though she had to wonder if anyone had seen her jumping from the garage into the back door of the van they had sent for her. It had only been a second or two, but if someone had been looking… Not that it was likely, their neighbourhood was thoroughly middle-class and to Taylor's knowledge, everyone on their block worked weekdays.

Hopping out of the van at the testing centre she found Dr. Chambers waiting for her along with a red with silver trim suit-clad young superhero wearing a red helmet. A silver shield stood out prominently on his chest. It took her a moment to recognize him. He was Aegis, a Ward who had joined the program late the previous year.

"Good morning Dr. Chambers." She said, looking at Aegis curiously.

"Good morning Miss Hebert. This is Aegis, he will be helping us with a few things today." The Doctor said.

"Pleased to meet you, Taylor," Aegis said, holding a hand out to her. She shook it hesitantly. "You, uh, don't mind if I call you Taylor?"

"Um... Nice to meet you too, no, I mean yes it's fine." She said, trying not to blush as she realized that yes, the suit on his upper body was in fact skin tight and showed off his physique in a rather distracting way.

Her efforts were doomed from the beginning as Inari piped up. "Oooh, he's a cute one Taylor. Maybe you can ask if we can keep him." She whistled.

The blush that Taylor felt form at that comment was matched in intensity only by the flustered glare she sent Inari, who smirked back up at her. "I am so sorry," Taylor said, looking back up at Aegis, who was looking down at Inari with… The helmet hid so much of his face it was impossible for her to tell what he was thinking.

"That's-" He coughed into a hand, "That's alright. I was warned ahead of time."

Inari sighed dramatically. "Sabotaged before I even had a chance." She lamented, drawing a chuckle from Aegis. Taylor's blush receded a bit.

"We have one other who we are waiting on before we begin Miss Hebert. If you and Aegis wish to -" The sound of a car descending the ramp into the parkade interrupted the Doctor. "Nevermind."

A silver Buick sedan turned the corner and came to a halt in front of them. The doors popped open and Miss Dallon stepped out of the driver's door. From the right rear door stepped a girl a couple of years older than Taylor with long platinum blonde hair and a body that was just as model-worthy as Emma. She was wearing her costume of a white mid-thigh dress, white boots, over the shoulder white cape and golden spiked tiara. She smiled brightly on spotting them.

"Aegis!" She waved, "How's summer been?" She asked brightly, bouncing over to them. The act causing Taylor's eyes to unconsciously bounce up and down with her. She was beautiful in a way that made Taylor feel inadequate, even if she couldn't quite stop staring...

"Good enough Glory. Well, other than last night." Aegis replied with a shrug. "Things got a bit hairy when that storm hit."

Taylor's blush, nearly gone, returned. "Sorry." She said, getting looks from both Aegis and Glory Girl. "That was my fault." She explained.

"Your fault?" Glory Girl echoed.

"There were some unexpected developments during yesterday's testing." Dr. Chambers said, "Though, Miss Hebert, the PRT would prefer if you kept things quiet on that front. While we are protected from lawsuit over unforeseeable incidents that occur during testing by law, it does not look good when it comes out."

Taylor blushed more. "Right…"

"Well, Victoria understands discretion, so you won't need to worry about her blabbing about this, right Victoria?" Mrs. Dallon said from her car.

"Lips are sealed Mom." The young superheroine mimed zipping her mouth shut and throwing away the key.

"They better be. You'll be lucky to get away with a month if it doesn't." Her mother replied before smiling at Taylor. "Have a good day Taylor. Try not to let my daughter get you into too much trouble."

"Mom!" Glory Girl went pink and frowned at her mother.

"Enjoy the day Victoria. Have a good day Doctor, Taylor." Mrs. Dallon climbed back into her car and it accelerated around the next corner of the parkade, heading for the ramp back up.

Glory Girl sighed and turned back to them. "I hate it when she does that." She groused before focusing on Taylor and smiling. "So, you're the new Ward. I'm Glory Girl, you can call me Vicky." Her brilliant smile was radiant.

Taylor's ear twitched and she sent a glance Aegis' way. The young hero had taken a step back and was shaking his head. "Vicky, aura." He said sharply.

"Ah, whoops." Vicky blushed. Something about her seemed to diminish and Taylor blinked.

"Nice to meet you." Her tails flicked to the side. "I'm Taylor, don't have a hero name yet." And she had no idea what to call herself. Her guide _was_ Inari, so that made that impossible, well awkward at least and insufferable.

"And she hasn't signed on quite yet. That is part of what these tests are for. To help determine the suitability of certain costume designs." The Doctor said, "Now, let us get you both signed in. We have a lot to cover today." She turned and headed into the reception area, pausing to wait for the three of them, and Inari, to file past her.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Signing in was as simple as last time and they were soon piling into an elevator. Taylor took a moment to check for signs as they got in. She didn't want to take the wrong one and get stuck in it for six hours. Assuming her dad hadn't just been pulling her leg.

The elevator was as crowded as the last time she got into one, with most of the space being taken up by her tails. It was fairly embarrassing actually. Most teenage girls didn't take up as much room as several overweight sumo wrestlers.

"What are you using on these?" Victoria asked as she petted the tail that had accidentally pushed her against the wall. She seemed to be conflicted as she ran a hand through the fur near the end.

"Shampoo?" Taylor shrugged, "Oh, and conditioner." She added a moment later. She just treated them like her regular hair, and it seemed to be working for now.

"..." Victoria stared at the tail in her face for a long moment before shrugging. "Huh." Then the door slid open and they piled out. "Why did we take the elevator? No offence, but I don't think Taylor fits too well." Taylor blushed, but she had to agree. Elevators were quickly becoming her least favourite form of travel.

"It was quicker." Dr. Chambers said leading the way towards down the hall to the familiar 'Enhanced Physicality Test Lab'. "We'll be taking care of a couple of tests that we had to skip due to time constraints yesterday. We have also set up the jump test for flying."

"Ooh." Taylor could hear the glee in Victoria's voice. "You can fly Taylor?" She asked.

"Kinda?" She wiggled a hand. "I wobble a bit." If flying could be compared to walking her flying was like a drunken Scottsman on New Years' Eve. She stumbled as Vicky slammed into her side with a one-armed hug.

"Eeeeeh, flying partner~!" She said, picking Taylor up and spinning her around. Taylor could hear Inari snickering as the world spun.

"Ms. Dallon." Dr. Chambers cleared her throat, Vicky stopped and Taylor blinked as the world continued to wobble. "Please put Ms. Hebert down. We do have things to do today."

"Right. Sorry." Vicky apologized, setting Taylor back down. She held out a hand as Taylor stumbled. "Are you okay?"

"Fine, just dizzy," Taylor said, shaking her head. She immediately regretted it since the world wobbled worse for a few seconds.

Aegis chuckled. "Don't worry, she does that to everyone who flies." He said.

"No, I don't," Vicky said with a frown and a huff, crossing her arms as she floated beside Taylor.

"Excuse me. Every hero who flies." Aegis corrected with a grin.

"Better," Vicky said with a smirk.

Dr. Chambers sighed and shook her head before heading into the test lab. "This way." She said. Taylor, her balance restored, followed after. The doctor led the way over to a machine buried off to one side. "To start with we need to get an idea of your durability." She said tapping the side of what looked like the cross of a drill press and a jackhammer. There was a clearly marked spot beneath the sharp center tool for her hand.

"And it works by?" Taylor asked, giving the device a wary look.

"This device will use a variety of tools to apply pressure to your hand. It will stop when it either detects bruising, blood, or you ask us to stop. Any injuries are designed to be minor in nature and will serve as a test for basic regenerative abilities as well." The doctor said before pointing to a few chairs by the door. "Aegis, Glory Girl, the two of you may sit there for now. Move." The two heroes did as asked, zipping across the room to take their seats.

"Left hand in here." Dr. Chambers said, pointing to the opening. With some trepidation, Taylor slipped her hand into the marked spot.

"OH MY GOD! YOUCANTALK~!" Taylor winced and yanked her hand back on instinct as Vicky squealed and scooped Inari into her arms, crushing the fox to her chest. Taylor was fairly sure that the other girl had hit frequencies not normally audible to humans. And it had hurt.

Shaking it off, and slightly amused by Inari's fate, Taylor put her hand back into the device. Unlike the other tests Dr. Chambers stood by the device and loomed while watching the control panel on it. "Alright, beginning test one. Impact resistance." There was a whirring sound and a flat hammer-like tool slid into place where a drill bit would normally be. There was a hissing noise, then a bang like an air cannon as the hammer slammed into her hand. There was a slight pressure, but no pain.

"What was that?" She asked.

"Five psi." The doctor said, "Firing ten in three, two, one." The follow-up strike did nothing to her. The doctor continued upping the amount. For a while, it just tickled, but eventually, it started to feel like something more than a vague pressure. She flinched as a powerful one smacked into her.

"Ow." She said.

"I see. Do you wish to continue?" Dr. Chambers asked.

"What was that equal to?" Taylor asked. The doctor hummed to herself and checked the readings.

"Since I know you lack the knowledge to properly compare this, let me put it this way. That was you slamming into a brick wall at your full sprint." Dr. Chambers replied.

"Ow." Taylor winced. Her hand hurt, but it was already fading. If that was what running into a brick wall was going to be like she'd have to avoid it. That actually hurt, though she did have to wonder how much of the wall would be left after she hit it. It might hurt a bit, but she'd probably win out over the brickwork.

"Yes, ow. I think we are safe to say you are more than durable enough to survive your own accidents." Dr. Chambers said, "Now if you don't want to continue this we can move onto the pressure test."

"Please." Her hand was going to hurt so much after this. The pressure test was simpler than the impact one. The device simply applied force until she complained. That turned out to be an issue actually. While the impact test had started to inflict pain relatively quickly. With the pressure test slowly ramping pressure kept going up, and up, and up until the Doctor frowned and tapped her keypad. The machine stopped increasing the pressure and instead released her.

"Well, I'm going to need to have something brought in to test any higher than that." Dr. Chambers sighed.

Taylor pulled her hand out and gave it a look. Not even a mark. "Huh, what is the maximum for this?" She asked.

"Twelve thousand psi." The doctor sighed, "I've been trying to convince them that we need something more impressive here, but there hasn't been that sort of brute coming through here to warrant more. I'll need to get something shipped in. Still, your resistance to pressure is vastly higher than I would have expected, interesting. Now, blade resistance. Hand back in please."

Wincing nervously Taylor put her hand back into the device. The device whirred and a blade slid into the place of the hammer. Closing her eyes she tried to ignore the machine as she felt a soft pressure on her hand that rapidly increased. She flinched as the blade finally broke her skin and the device stopped before withdrawing.

"Strange." The doctor said as Taylor opened her eyes. She stared at her hand. The wound had already disappeared, but where it had been was a small line of a golden liquid.

"Um… INARI!" She called, "MY BLOOD IS GOLD!"

"GODDESS!" The fox called back from Vicky's lap. The blonde ran a lock of her hair through her fingers and stared at it as though trying to picture it as blood.

"Excuse me, if we could get that into here." Dr. Chambers held out a small test tube and Taylor held her hand out. The golden droplets were scraped into the test tube, leaving no sign of their presence on Taylor's skin. Taylor ran a hand over where the wound had been. Nothing remained to show it had been there.

"Your regeneration is exceptional, at least in a small scale. Hopefully, we won't have to test it on a larger scale." Dr. Chambers noted as she stopped the test tube and slipped it into a protective case before handing it off to an assistant. "As much of an analysis as you can. I'd rather not get more if we don't need it. Repeatedly stabbing a minor with a knife generates far too much paperwork." She said to Taylor who blinked and frowned.

It had better generate a lot of paperwork. She didn't exactly like being stabbed.

"Now, that is your durability test, at least as far as we can test without bringing in specialty equipment or sending you off somewhere out of town." Dr. Chambers continued, "Now, I believe we have a few flight-related tests to run. First, Glory Girl, Aegis. Please come over to the jump pad."

Taylor followed her over to the side where she had tested her jumping and accidentally learned to fly with a frown. She was fairly certain that Dr. Chambers was probably just a few regulations shy of being a mad scientist. Probably. Unless she had been joking… She probably hadn't been.

The jumping test pad had been removed and the floor was now covered in padding half as high as the original singular pad. Not that anyone who could fly really needed padding.

Victoria, Inari in her arms, joined them first floating six feet off the ground. Inari hopped out of her arms onto the pads and shook herself before stretching. "You hug a bit hard Vicky." The fox said to the blonde floating beside her.

"Sorry." Vicky floated down to something closer to Taylor's height as Aegis joined the. He was also floating a few inches off the ground.

"Now, I'll leave the two of you to help Ms. Hebert acquaint herself with flying. I will be observing from the station over there if you need me." Dr. Chambers pointed to the station she had used the day before, then promptly left.

"Well, let's get to it then!" Vicky shouted and flew up to float a dozen feet over the pads. "Come on up and let's get started."

Taylor stared up and frowned. How was it she- oh right. She rose from the floor, wobbling unsteadily as she did. Five feet off the ground she suddenly tipped to the side and started to spin. A hand caught her. She blinked and looked over to see Aegis keeping her steady.

"You know, most fliers are pretty instinctive." He said.

She blushed, partly from his comment, partly from how close he was. She could see his eyes through the opening in his helmet. "All of my powers start like this." She admitted.

"Then you just need practice." He said, guiding her up and over the pads. "Right, Glory get down here. Let's start with something a bit more simple than that. Unless you want to explain why you placed her in a position to go spinning off through a window?"

The blonde huffed but floated down. "Okay, okay. Stability first, height second." She sighed as she floated down the pads a few meters. "Right, I'll stay here and you there. Taylor can float from one of us to the other until she gets used to it."

Taylor groaned as Aegis agreed. It was like being a toddler learning to walk. Inari, it seemed, picked up on her thoughts as the fox started sniggering. She sent a glare Inari's way. It bounced off the iron hide of millennia of experience with things far worse than a teenage goddess' annoyance. This was going to suck… Hopefully, they weren't filming this.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Being head of hiring at the Dockworkers Union of Brockton Bay was a rough job. The union was short-staffed in the senior management area and had been for years. Over time, as others with experience had left for greener pastures, more and more responsibilities had been 'temporarily' handed over to Danny. These days he basically ran everything important at the Union, and not because he wanted to.

Being at the top of the totem pole had its drawbacks. The biggest one was how little time you seemed to have at the end of the day. But there were others, like having to miss out on Taylor's second day of testing. He didn't truly trust the PRT, at least not when it came to testing. Dr. Chambers was far too cold for him to trust fully with Taylor. At least she wouldn't be completely alone at the testing centre. He wished he could be there, but things had been piling up and the Union couldn't run too long without some senior management.

His truck pulled into the parking lot at ten-thirty and was making his way towards the main office building when a familiar tall and broad-shouldered man came running across the yard. "Danny, there you are." His old friend Kurt shouted as he came to a stop beside him. "'Bout time."

"No trains are coming in for the rest of today anyway Kurt. We have plenty of time to get the tracks re-" Danny said. Kurt cut him off.

"I was about to give the PRT a call." His friend said grimly.

"The- What?" Danny stopped in his tracks. "What's going on, Kurt? Did something happen? Have the gangs-"

"Not the gangs. At least it isn't like anything they've done before." His friend said, "Come on."

Danny held up his hands, loaded down with his lunch bag and briefcase. "Can it wait a couple o' minutes?" He asked.

Kurt nodded. "Probably." He admitted. They made the trip up to his office in a couple of minutes and just as quickly headed out again.

"It showed up a half-hour ago," Kurt said as they hurried across the busy work yard. "Washed up between piers 3 and 4."

"Washed up?" Danny asked as they walked around a parked forklift.

"Yeah. Some kinda fish looks like a shark but… the damned thing is too fucking big." Kurt said, shaking his head. "No way it's natural. That's not the only problem though."

"How big are we talking? And what else is there?" Danny asked.

"Well… that big." Kurt said as they turned the corner and the gap between Piers 3 and 4 came into view. Sprawled out, half on land and half out, was the single largest shark Danny had ever seen. Living in Brockton Bay and working on the docks for most of his life Danny had seen sharks before. Some caught, some washed up. He had even seen a Great White brought in once. This thing though…

"Jesus Christ," Danny muttered as they walked over to it. It had to be at least six meters long, possibly seven.

"Yeah, Joey thinks its a Megalodon. Aren't those things supposed to be extinct?" Kurt asked as they stopped a dozen feet away.

"Yeah… is it dead?" Danny asked, watching the beast for signs of life. There weren't any flies or other bugs around it, which was odd if it was dead.

"Yeah, pretty sure. Cause of death if rather obvious. This way." Kurt said and led him around the beast to the other side. The cause was indeed, rather obvious. Jammed deep into the gut of the beast and sticking out in blatant defiance of gravity was a strange trident. Its shaft made from an odd sea-green material while the prongs, most of which were buried in the beast's gut, was an impossibly shiny gold.

Danny stared at it for a long moment. "Is it safe?" He asked, staring at the trident.

"Just don't touch the trident. Last guy to touch it is getting patched up for electrical burns." Kurt said, frowning as Danny approached the trident. As he got closer the details on the shaft became more easily visible.

His wife Annette had been an English Professor with a love for the classics, and a love for the originals when possible. A consequence of that was that he could, even after all these years, recognize Greek. Hell, he could tell the difference between ancient and modern, even if he couldn't read them. Ancient Greek was carved in spirals from the base of the prongs all the way to the end of the trident, broken only by the occasional line of alternating lightning bolts and foxes.

He frowned. "Damn it." He muttered. This was, he suspected, something to do with Taylor.

He peered at the golden prongs of the trident. At their base, inlaid into the gold, was another fox with a lightning bolt clasped in its jaws. Small lightning bolts trailed from the fox up the three prongs until they disappeared in the guts of the beast.

"There goes that hope." He said, turning away from it. There had been a part of him that had hoped that his daughter was just a parahuman with a, particularly odd projection. This though… He scowled. He still wasn't entirely convinced, but he had to hand it to the fox, this was one hell of a trick if it was one.

"Call the PRT." He told Kurt, "Let them deal with this."

-0-0-0-0-0-

A/N: First off, a thank you again for my adorable editor Gekkou_Yoko your assistance is invaluable, especially since you know so much more about mythology than I do~ *Bowing Kitsune*

To my patrons, thank you again for supporting me. I hope you enjoy this chapter~

To everyone else, whoooo~ Two Chapter (one rather shorter than the other) for one story in about a week of each other.

If you're happy with this story and want to pitch into my fund for fanart of other things please feel free to toss a few dollars a month my way via ~ *Hopeful Kitsune* Otherwise, discord is in my signature, please come and discuss things with us~


	7. Chapter 7

-0-0-0-0-0-

A Worm Fanfic

The Taste of Peaches

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

7

-0-0-0-0-0-

Taylor floated in the middle of an open-air test chamber lined with concrete inches above the floor. The skies above were overcast and light-grey clouds covered the limited sky she could see above her. It had taken over an hour but while she could float without falling over she was hardly a flier in Vicky's league. Or Aegis' for that matter. Her flight was more akin to a limping grandmother with a cane than a fighter jet. As Inari kept telling her though, with practice she would get better. Now, they had moved on from flight practice to testing other powers.

"Ms. Hebert, can you hear me?" Dr. Chamber's voice crackled from the speakers mounted on either side of the observation box at the far end of the room. The metal and concrete shelter was only distinguishable from the wall by the small slit two floors up. "If you can, please wave."

Taylor waved.

"Good. Then let us begin. Yesterday, during the incident I shall avoid going into detail on, you demonstrated pyrokinetic capabilities. I would like you to try can call up those same abilities now," The doctor said. Beneath the booth, the main entrance to the open-aired chamber slid open and a cart, with no one steering it, rolled through the door carrying a potted plant. The pot had to weigh at least a couple of hundred pounds. "Please attempt to light this plant on fire with your powers."

So, just set the potted plant, a fern of some kind, on fire with her mind. Great. Easy, simple. No harder than lifting a lake, or conjuring a storm or… Taylor sighed and settled to the ground. Her feet touched the floor as the autonomous cart deposited the potted plant. The cart withdrew with what almost appeared to be panic. It was certainly wobbling anyway. She brushed that aside, probably just a loose wheel.

"So, fire…" Taylor breathed, staring at the potted plant as she sat down on the concrete floor. One of her tails found its way into her lap and she ran a hand through the long hairs. Fire, flames, heat. To be really simple the release of energy during an exothermic reaction, or something like that. Was that more simple? She frowned and hummed, trying to do what she had done the day before with the storm.

The potted plant, herself, and the air around her remained decidedly not on fire as she tried to synchronize with the concept of fire the same way she had the storm or the ocean. It was not, she had to admit some minutes later, going as well as the day before. It was starting to remind her of when she had tried to grasp lightning at first.

"Ms. Hebert?" Taylor opened her eyes, which had closed, and looked up at the booth. "It has been twenty-five minutes. Please raise your hand if you believe you have no idea where to start with this?" She held up one of her hands. She was missing something, again.

"Would you say it's like when you tried to concentrate on Lightning before?" Inari's voice crackled over the intercom, "Wave if it is." She waved.

A few moments passed. "Ms. Hebert," The doctor said with a resigned tone, "Please come back inside."

Taylor shrugged and glanced at the plant. She gave it a pat. "I guess you get to live for a bit. Enjoy it~" She said as she stood. The plant seemed to preen beneath the attention. Odd. Shrugging it off she lifted off a few inches and floated for the exit.

Inari had suggested that she try floating instead of walking for the rest of the day to help ingrain her flight skills. If nothing else it was nicer than walking everywhere. Once she stopped falling over at least.

She floated back through the entrance of the chamber. Everyone else was waiting for her. "So, why are we stopping?" Taylor asked curiously as she joined the rest of the group.

Glory Girl shrugged and floated over to her. "Something about not wanting a volcano to show up or something?" She said as she stretched.

"Volcano?" Taylor repeated, looking down at Inari.

It was the Doctor who responded. "It has been pointed out that you conceptualize your powers via association with elements, or as your projection explained 'domains', of reality. Given that your powers manifest the first time as an external expression of that 'domain' I have decided that due to your fire perhaps being, like your electricity, a lesser expression of a fire-related concept it would be irrational to continue this test so close to a major population center."

"She's worried it might be something like 'volcano' or something," Inari explained with an amused grin.

Taylor raised an eyebrow at the fox. "And who gave her that idea?" She asked.

"Well, it's still possible," Inari shrugged, "Unless you want to create a volcano in the middle of town?" Taylor had to admit that no, she really did not want to create a volcano inside of Brockton Bay. Really who would?

"Is that a danger?" Aegis asked. The Ward looked vaguely worried beneath his mask.

"Well, given yesterday…" Taylor blushed. It deepened, creeping down her neck as Aegis stared at her. Oh god, what was going through his mind? Did he think she was dangerous, or a risk, or just crazy?

"Miss Hebert's powers tend to express themselves as macro-scale phenomena during their first use," Dr. Chambers explained, "Subsequent expressions have been significantly less impressive. At least during initial practice."

Aegis nodded slowly. "Right. Well, let's try and avoid creating a volcano in the middle of town then," He was trying to sound confident, but she could still pick out the nervousness. Great, she'd already intimidated one of her new teammates.

Vicky tossed an arm over Taylor's shoulder and leaned on her, not that it was a problem with both of them floating. "Well I'm positive it's not going to happen again, right Taylor?" The blonde asked brightly.

Taylor held up a hand and tried to call up a bit of the storm. Sparks jumped between her fingers. "This is about all I can do right now," She admitted. It was strange. The lightning leapt between her fingers as she wanted, but the paths they took weren't the straight lines she expected. They arced and twisted seemingly under another's will. She needed more practice.

"Is there somewhere I can practice with this?" She asked Dr. Chambers.

"That would be the next set of tests," The Doctor replied after consulting her tablet. "This way please." She gestured down the hall before taking the lead. Taylor scooped Inari up and floated after Dr. Chambers.

As they moved onto the next lab Aegis floated up beside her. "You know, I don't think I've ever heard of someone's tests taking this long before," He said.

"Most people don't keep going back to the powers bag for more," Vicky deadpanned from her other side.

Taylor sighed. "It's just how things worked out," She said, her blush still strong. "Not like I asked for all of this power." It was frightening in a way. While she couldn't just wave her hand and summon a storm Inari had made it clear that that was only because of how young a 'god' she was. If her fuzzy advisor was to be believed then that storm she summoned was just a taste of what she might eventually be able to do.

The thought worried her.

"You did eat the peach," Inari reminded her.

"Eating a fruit does not qualify as consent," Taylor sniffed.

The fox snickered. "It was gold and the only thing that wasn't stone.

"Peach?" Vicky repeated, "What peach?"

"Not talking about it," Taylor groaned. She sent Inari a warning glare. She did not need more people thinking she was crazy.

"Why not?" Vicky leaned closer, "Come on, what peach?" Her face was leaning just into view and Taylor could see a catty look of curiosity.

"Not sharing." And there was nothing that could make her.

"Well," Inari began. Taylor's eyes narrowed and she tightened the hug. The fox made a startled squeak as she squeezed it a bit. "Okay, okay. Not mentioning it. Meany." The former goddess stuck her tongue out at Taylor. Very maturely Taylor responded in kind.

Then Inari licked her face.

Taylor sputtered in surprise as Inari snickered and Vicky giggled beside her. "Okay, I'll leave it be," The 'for now' went unsaid, but Taylor could all but feel the older girl's anticipation. She was going to keep asking. Damn it Inari.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The next lab was small in comparison to the others they had used previously. It was about the size of a classroom and divided down the middle by a floor to ceiling glass window. The door to the other side was left open as more technicians were bringing equipment online. The inside of the chamber was lined in black rubber and had a pair of silvery metal spikes sticking out of a pedestal at chest height.

Dr. Chambers moved over to the main console. "Ms. Dallon, Aegis, the two of you may take the seats along the wall for the moment. This test will only take a couple of minutes. Ms. Hebert, into the chamber please."

"Uh, what are we doing?" Taylor asked as Aegis and Vicky took the pair of seats off to the side.

"We are going to take a measurement of your electricity as a baseline for future comparison," Dr. Chambers said, "Please step inside. Your projection can stay outside if you wish. You will need both hands."

Taylor glanced down at Inari who shrugged and hopped down. "I'll stay over here," She declared, hopping into Vicky's lap.

"Presuming a bit much, aren't you?" Vicky commented, though her hands had already started petting the white fox who simply hummed pleasantly in reply.

Shaking her head at her guide, Taylor entered the chamber. A rubber-lined door slid shut behind her. "Please approach the electrodes," The doctor instructed. The electrodes were set up in an inverted V with a gap between them. Taylor cautiously approached them.

"Do I just grab them and try to hit them with as much power as possible?" She asked loudly.

"No need to shout Ms. Taylor, and yes. Take however much time you need then shock both at once." The clinical way the doctor spoke was starting to get on Taylor's nerves a bit. It made her feel a bit like a guinea pig, which was technically true at the moment. It was not a nice feeling.

Pushing her annoyance aside, her tails twitching to either side, she considered the electrodes before her. She could just grab them and pump as much electricity into them as she could. She looked down at her hands and pulled. Lightning jumped between her fingers. It was weak, barely visible and she doubted it could do much. Her throughput was probably rather low, but what if she tried gathering a charge first? Lightning was a large discharge of electricity, so if she wanted to give a good showing it was worth a shot.

Gathering lightning was nothing like controlling or creating water. With water, she was mostly pulling it out of the air or from some other source. If she had to create it, she had realized it was simpler to just pull it from 'somewhere else' to her location. It was a bit hard to quantify, but it was like the water she pulled was there, just not here until she wanted it to be here. With lightning she had to do what she considered her last resort with water, creating it from nothing.

Creating matter was probably a violation of several laws of physics, but it was an act that she could do and had practiced a few times at her house over the last week. The effort required to force water from nothing was less than what she had faced when compressing the water sphere from the day before, but it was still a tiring and inefficient process like reality was initially rejecting her work.

Creating lightning did not require her to create matter. It was, after all, just the process of electrons moving. Still, the energy had to come from somewhere and doing more than just a few seconds of weak electricity that bled off into the air was creating pressure in the back of her mind. A weight that grew with the shroud of electricity she was gathering around her hands. Glowing light snapped and crackled around her fingers. Sparks occasionally slipped loose of her grasp and spent themselves against the only thing other than her that was conductive in the room: the electrodes.

Well, at least they were getting data. When the pressure had built up to the point where more sparks were leaving her hands than she could bring up she gripped the electrodes and dumped the power into them.

There was a crack-bang and the lights flickered as she sighed and slumped a bit. Her head hurt. That had probably been too much too soon. Like her second day of practicing with water when she had given herself a splitting headache from trying to levitate an entire bathtub of water.

"Ow," She complained, rubbing her forehead.

"Ms. Hebert, was that discharge as high as you could make it at present?" Dr. Chambers asked.

"Yeah," Taylor winced and blinked as the lights seemed a bit too bright. The headache was already fading, but it left her feeling a bit woozy in its absence.

"Excellent. Please grasp the electrodes again and deliver a constant charge until either I tell you to stop, or you feel that continuing would be hazardous," Dr. Chambers instructed her without seeming to notice the headache that Taylor had inflicted on herself.

She sighed and grabbed the electrodes; the sooner she was done the better. The electrodes were warm, but not painfully so. She blinked at them as she realized that the metal beneath her fingers was actually glowing just a touch from the heat. It felt cooler than her morning toast.

"Um, how hot is this?" She asked.

Dr. Chambers turned away for a few seconds before turning back to the microphone. "Hot enough that you should be burning your hands. How are you feeling?" She asked.

Taylor looked her hands over. "Fine. My toast felt warmer this morning," She said with a shrug.

"Interesting. Please, continue," The doctor made a note on her tablet. A stable current was much easier to produce and simply let flow into the electrodes. There was no mounting pressure in the back of her head as she stood there and let the electricity flow.

"Enough," Dr. Chambers finally said and Taylor let her hands drop. Her tails and ears wilted as she stepped back and stretched. "You can leave the chamber Ms. Hebert."

"Hrn, oh that was tiring," Taylor yawned. She left the chamber to find Vicky waiting with Inari in her arms. The other girl looked her over.

"You okay? You're looking a bit pale," Vicky said after a moment.

"Just tired I think," Taylor yawned, "Pushed myself a bit too far."

"Then maybe a break is in order?" Aegis suggested, standing with a grunt, "We're passed noon. Time for lunch."

Dr. Chambers turned from her work. "If the three of you wish to visit the cafeteria you are free to go. I will come and get you in an hour to continue testing," She said. Taylor smiled gratefully.

"C'mon, I know the way," Aegis said, ushering her out of the room along with Vicky.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The cafeteria was much nicer than the one at Winslow. Not that that was a surprise to Taylor. Winslow was a shithole after all. The place should have been shut down years ago, even if it was just for a renovation. She wouldn't have been surprised to hear that there was asbestos in the walls, or that a colony of mole people was plotting world domination in the gym's basement.

The food was more than just not-quite-identifiable brown-coloured lumps. Sandwiches, small cakes, pastries and soup. All delivered in a room with nice clean white tiles and murals on the walls. Really, there was no comparing Winslow to the cafeteria at the PRT's testing facility. As Taylor took a seat across one of the cafeteria's booths from Aegis and Vicky she wondered if the other PRT facilities, like the HQ and the Rig in the harbour were as nice. Well, it would certainly be a nice change from dreary gangland if they were even half as good.

As she dug into one of the handful of sausage rolls she had grabbed, she was starving and the pastry-wrapped sausage looked delicious, Aegis leaned forward. "You know they only told me you had a talking fox when they asked me to come here today," He said.

"Really?" She tried to reply. With the sausage in her mouth, all that came out was 'rll' accompanied by a spray of pastry. Blushing, she swallowed and wiped her mouth with a paper napkin. "Really?" She tried again.

Aegis nodded. "Yeah. Hell, they didn't even tell me you were a girl until I got here. I get the feeling that they're trying to keep your presence really quiet. I can see why," He said, "Is there anything you can't do? I mean, you can fly, summon lightning. You summoned a storm and I think I heard something about hydrokinesis in there?"

Taylor nibbled on another roll as she considered what to say. If the PRT was keeping everything that quiet, maybe she shouldn't tell everything? Then again Aegis was supposed to be one of her future teammates so maybe she should share… And there was Vicky sending a hopeful look and a pout in her direction.

She glanced down at Inari who was curled amidst her tails. The fox spirit looked up from the pastry she was daintily nibbling on. "Go for it. No reason to hide," Inari said after she realized Taylor was looking for advice.

"Sooo?" Vicky drawled, leaning on an elbow across the table. Taylor could feel the curiosity rolling off the other girl.

Taylor nibbled on her roll a bit more. "Well," She began, "I guess the first thing is that all of my powers have been getting stronger. Or, maybe I'm just getting better at using them?"

"Bit of both," Inari interjected. She was done with her roll and was licking crumbs out of the tails around her. Taylor twitched and bopped the fox on the head with a tail. The licking tickled.

"Well, they get better," Taylor continued. "I started with just the tails and the chatterfox here." She indicated the comically offended Inari with one hand.

"I could just stop advising you," Inari grumbled before taking another roll from the plate that Taylor had set aside for her. Taylor rolled her eyes but otherwise ignored her.

"Anyway, I picked up the hydrokinesis thing right away, but I'm still practicing that. I mean, I could barely lift a bucket of water let alone the swimming pool I did yesterday when I started. The last week has been rather busy."

"The last week?" Vicky repeated, "You only triggered last week?"

Taylor shrugged. "I spent all my time until yesterday in the house," She grumbled. Getting poked and prodded for science might have been annoying, but at least it was getting her out of the house. "I can't exactly go out and about like this without some kind of protection, right?"

Aegis winced while Vicky nodded. "So you can't hide this then?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Nope. I've tried, but if I'm supposed to be able to shapeshift or do illusions I just can't figure out how," She grumbled. Weren't foxes in legend suppose to do both of those?

"Not having a secret identity can be annoying at times," Vicky sympathized. She sighed dramatically. "All the fans, and paparazzi, and you can't even just switch out of your costume when you want to get away from it all."

Taylor rolled her eyes. "I have no idea what any of that is like," She said dryly.

"Well unless the PRT is planning on getting you some kind of Tinkertech toy to help out, you're probably not going to have a secret identity like Aegis here," Vicky pointed to Aegis.

"I don't think they are," Taylor sighed.

"Well that's going to make things complicated," Aegis groaned.

"Why?" Taylor asked.

"You're going to be going to Arcadia, right?" The Ward asked. She nodded. "So, the lot of us Wards who do go to Arcadia tend to group up during lunchtime and the like. Getting you into that without raising suspicion that we're all wards is going to be tricky."

"Not that hard. I'll just drag her over," Vicky rolled her eyes, "Everyone knows I'm dating Dean." That must have been one of the names of the other wards. Though Taylor couldn't think of which one it would be. Triumph maybe? Or perhaps Gallant?

"We'll work it out. Anyway, what else?" Aegis turned the conversation back towards her powers.

"Well… I can manipulate things related to the ocean and to storms," Taylor said, "And yes, it is that broad. Even if I'm not really good at the storm thing just yet. I only figured out the basics yesterday." She blushed. "I don't think I'll be doing a repeat of yesterday anytime soon."

"Not sure the city could handle another one," Aegis sighed, "I spent part of last night picking up debris and helping clear roads."

She winced. "Sorry," She mumbled. He waved it off.

"No one got hurt. Not that big a deal so long as you didn't do it on purpose," He said.

She nodded and kept going. "I've also got the flight and some physical enhancements."

"Wait," Vicky leaned forward with an intensely curious look. "You're an Alexandria package? Just like me?"

"Um, yes?" Taylor said after a moment.

"That is awesome," The blonde smirked. "You are going to be so much fun to hang out with." Taylor blinked. That was not the reaction she was expecting.

"Uum?"

"How strong are you?" Vicky asked.

"Erm…" Taylor's head tilted to the side as she tried to remember what the number was. "Fifty I think?" She glanced at Inari.

"Fifty? Fifty of?" Vicky prodded as Aegis' eyes went wide. Well, he seemed to have guessed it.

"Fifty-one and three-quarters," Inari corrected.

Taylor nodded. "That… sounds right. Fifty-one and three-quarter tons," She said with a firm nod. She blinked as Vicky's jaw dropped. "What?" She asked confused.

Aegis shook his head, a strangled chuckle making its way out. "Taylor, Glory Girl can only deadlift something like ten tons and she's considered one of the three strongest parahumans in the bay."

Oh, ooooooh. She blushed again. "Oh," she said, picking up a BLT sandwich from her tray and using its bulk to conceal more of her face as she ate. It was rather good for a cafeteria sandwich.

"I- just…" Vicky took a deep breath. "Oh my god Taylor," She whispered her eyes going wide. Her plate sat empty as she stared blankly at the booth wall beside Taylor. "You… I think you could give Alexandria a run…"

"Not even close" Aegis said, shaking his head, "But she's pretty high up there."

Vicky nodded absently, fiddling with a turkey sandwich on her plate. Taylor watched with vague concern as the other girl tore a large piece off the sandwich and chewed mechanically. Aegis was also watching her as her mouth moved up and down. She swallowed then her eyes went down to the sandwich for a second before it was slowly placed back onto the tray. "Taylor…"

"Yeah?" She asked nervously.

Vicky sighed. "You said all of your powers get stronger over time. Does that include your strength?" She asked. Beside her Aegis blinked and mouthed an Oooh silently.

"It does," Inari confirmed.

Taylor glanced down at her fox, looked up at the two stupefied heroes, then sighed and went back to eating her lunch. It was easier than contemplating how the world was suddenly made of cardboard. She ran a soothing hand through her tails. Yes, much simpler.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Around thirty minutes later, fifteen minutes after Victoria had finally rebooted her brain and changed the conversation to favourite television shows, Dr. Chambers arrived and ushered them out of the cafeteria and onto the next set of tests. They were guided out of the building to the backyard.

It was mostly the same as the day before, though there was a very large burnt area in the middle of the track. They were led over to the bunker from the day before. Two more uniformed guards were standing by the door. If they recognized her they gave no sign as Taylor and the others approached. Outside the bunker, a small tent had been erected under which tables covered in electronics were set up.

"Your projection has suggested, and indeed the events of yesterday support, that you, Ms. Hebert, are capable of controlling far more than just electricity and water," Dr. Chambers began.

Taylor nodded. The storm was more than just lightning. She looked up at the cloud-covered sky. It wasn't going to storm anytime soon. She could feel that. These clouds were just… just… Her ear twitched. The clouds weren't entirely natural, at least not all of them. Many were leftover from her moment the night before. Huh… it felt as though all she had to do was _reach_ for them and they would-

"Ms. Hebert," The Doctor continued, drawing her attention back down to earth, "At the moment we have no true understanding as to what this aspect of your powers entails. As such we would simply like you to spend at least the next hour experimenting. I am sure that if you need assistance Aegis and Ms. Dallon will be more than happy to help."

"I'm game," Vicky said. She waved from where she was floating cross-legged under the tent. "Though it kinda looks like it's going to rain."

"No chance of that," Taylor said, looking back up at the sky. "Most of these clouds are just leftovers from yesterday… hrm…" Though, they really shouldn't have been any from the day before. With the constant prevailing wind that came off the ocean, they should have moved inland by now. So why were they- it was probably her fault, wasn't it?

"You can tell?" Aegis asked. She nodded absently.

"It's just most of them, not all. I think today should have been light clouds without what I did," Taylor noted. At least she hadn't caused it to rain the next day as well. A guilty part of her wondered how much the damages were by now.

"We will be here if you require us. Please, experiment," Dr. Chambers gestured to the field before guiding Vicky and Aegis back under the tent.

"Not going to hook me up to a computer?" Taylor asked loudly.

Dr. Chambers turned back once she was under the tent. "We have atmospheric sensors set up to measure the effects on the area as you experiment. Physiological data can be gathered at a later date." With that, the woman - who was likely a mad scientist - started looking over the shoulders of her assistants.

Taylor shrugged and looked around the field. It would probably be safer for them if she got some distance before she did whatever it was she was going to do. Walking for the track she glanced down at Inari who was following along at her feet. "So, experiment," She sighed, "That's vague."

"I think you might be falling outside of their normal expectations," The fox sounded amused.

Taylor snorted. "You're just looking for another opportunity to shout 'Goddess'," She snarked.

"Now you're getting it," Inari replied smugly as they crossed the outer ring of the track. "They can't figure out what to make of your abilities. They don't follow the normal quasi-byzantine logic of powers. You don't do one thing that you can leverage into others. You have many powers. Anyone of which a parahuman would give their left arm to possess."

"Eidolon has many powers," Taylor pointed out. It said something that the only parahuman she could think of with as broadly defined powers as her own was one of the Triumvirate.

Inari scoffed. "A man who can have any power, but who has no control over which he gets? You have barely started and you already have more control over your own powers than he does. I doubt he ever keeps them around long enough to master them," She sniffed imperiously. Taylor rolled her eyes.

Changing subjects Taylor turned her eyes towards the clouds. "So, experimenting. Hrm… What comprises the storm?" She already knew the answer to that. That was how her powers worked after all. To realize a domain was to define it. To define it was to call it forth.

Inari simply took a seat a few feet away and waited.

"Let's start with something simple," Taylor decided, "I'm going to try creating some wind."

Inari nodded. "Then start by feeling the air. Scientifically speaking Wind comes about when air moves from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure," Her guide said, "As I'm sure you've noticed by now, divine actions are easiest when working with the natural order rather than against it."

"Which is why creating lightning is so hard," Taylor noted. She held out her hands and gently dragged her fingers through the air, shutting her eyes as she did so.

"Exactly. Now, take a deep breath in," Inari instructed. Taylor did as asked, inhaling as much air as she could, it took a lot longer to stop inhaling than she thought it should have.

"Good, now hold it. Hold the air. Feel it inside you… and… let it go, slowly. Feel it as it leaves your body and mixes with the world around you. Feel it as it stirs and shifts the winds. As the pressure changes. Can you feel it?" Inari's voice was calm and level as she gave each instruction.

Taylor nodded absently. She could feel something stirring as she breathed out. She dragged finger across… something and a small gust of wind crashed into the ground, knocking dust into the air. A path, or no… not a path. A place where the pressure had shifted in response to her breath. She inhaled again, slowly. She held the air, feeling it again, then exhaled. Something shifted around her as she did.

She must have looked ridiculous, standing in the middle of a field with her eyes shut, hands outstretched, and talking to a fox. Mad. She probably looked completely and utterly mad, but she kept doing it. She could feel something, and that something became just a tiny bit clearer with each repetition.

She didn't count how many times she repeated it, but eventually, she nodded to Inari and opened her eyes. The air around her felt different than when she had closed them. She waved an arm and though she couldn't see it, she could feel the shifting of air pressures around her in response so well she didn't need to. She sighed, her breath stirring the air in eddies.

"It feels, strange…" She said, dragging a finger across a breeze. It bent and swirled around her finger before continuing along its way. She couldn't see them, but this wasn't a question of sight.

"You can feel the breeze," Inari observed. Her tail flicked side to side.

Taylor nodded. "It's… hard to describe," She admitted with a sigh that stirred the air once more.

Inari nodded. "Progress. Very good progress. It seems you might have some talent for this aspect. Now, can you do anything with it?"

Do something with it? She drummed a finger on a breeze, producing an oddly deep ringing noise around them. Inari's ear twitched. She dragged another finger through the air, hooking it around and through another breeze. She dragged the air along through a throwing motion, letting go like she would a baseball. The breeze catapulted forward, dragging the air around her with it.

What impacted the ground fifteen feet away was more than a breeze, though less than a bomb. The surface of the track for ten feet in all directions was scoured of any distinguishing marks as painted gravel was scattered across the field. A few pelted Taylor and Inari, though they were barely an irritant.

Her hair and tails whipped about in the concussive blast that swept by them. That… That was a bit more than she'd been trying to do. It seemed the wind needed a gentle touch. "Erm… Oops?" Taylor winced.

Inari snickered. "Well, a bit more violent than I meant, but that is a good use," She said. One ear twitched as she tilted her head thoughtfully. "I've seen similar applications used as weapons. Something of about that strength would be fairly safe to use against most people."

"You think so?" Taylor asked thoughtfully.

"Well, you are going to be a Ward. You're going to have to fight," Inari pointed out.

Taylor frowned but nodded. "Right, so… Right." She needed to start thinking about how she was going to fight. Unless her lightning bolts were a lot less amperage than she thought they were probably lethal. Which meant they were probably fine to use on Kaiser or someone like that, but using them on a pickpocket would end in tragedy really quickly… and probably see her on a trip to the birdcage. The last thing she wanted was to get sent to parahuman Alcatraz.

"Now, can you do that again?" Inari prodded.

Taylor reached out and felt the air. Doing that had taken basically nothing. It was simple, easy, and less concentration intensive than a bolt of lightning. Less damage, but then she wasn't trying to kill someone with it. She dragged her finger through the air again and repeated it. Ten feet away from the first impact site more gravel went flying. She frowned.

"My aim is terrible," She sighed.

"Then practice," Inari prodded with a snicker. She ducked her head as another strike sent pebbles falling around them.

"I missed by ten feet," Taylor sighed.

"You have an impact zone of about ten feet," Inari pointed out as Taylor flicked out another strike.

"I know, and I keep missing it," Taylor grumbled. Her right ear twitched irritably as she failed again. There wasn't much left of the markings on this end of the track. She continued her efforts for a few more minutes before stopping.

"Getting tired?" Inari asked. She shook her head.

"Nope," She said, "I'm good. I could probably do this all day if I needed to. I'm just wondering what the limit is for this sort of thing."

"In theory? Fairly big so long as you don't do anything like try and compress the air or otherwise make it act unlike normal wind," Inari replied.

Taylor nodded, her fingers stroking the air as she thought. Creating a single gust of wind on this scale was obviously the easy end of wind manipulation. Even now, with no practice, she could do it probably forever without worrying about anything other than boredom. Or hitting something she didn't want to hit.

It was time to step it up a bit. First, scale it up. Her fingers dug into the swirling air around her and she dragged it forward with both hands. She aimed far across the field towards the copse of trees at the far end of the yard. She felt the air twist as she dragged it, dozens of meters of air around her bending with her will as a little pressure built in the back of her mind until she released it.

Beside her, Inari dug her paws into the dirt.

A wall of force rolled across the yard. Dust was kicked up, gravel was torn from the track, and loose grass spun through the air as the wall of air rumbled across the open ground. It crashed into the trees with enough force to strip leaves from branches and snap some of those branches clean off the trees. Taylor herself stumbled as the wave left her direct control.

Taylor took a deep breath and sat down. That… That had taken a bit out of her. She could do it again. Two- no a lot more than two. Maybe seven or eight times. The effort would probably make her as tired as she had been before lunch, but she could probably do it. "Whoo," She sighed.

"Well, that was fairly impressive for a first try," Inari remarked as she released her death grip on the dirt. "Want to try compressing the air you're using before releasing it next?"

Taylor gave her advisor a flat stare. "Wouldn't that be one of those things that doesn't occur naturally?" She asked.

"Not normally, no," Inari agreed as her tail wagged.

With a shake of her head, Taylor said, "No thank you. Not today. I like not passing out twice in two days."

"Hmm… Then maybe let's move onto something else," Inari suggested. Taylor's eyes went towards the sky. Something else related to storms? Well, she could try and make it rain… She frowned at the thought of ruining more people's day just because. She could try that later. Maybe she could convince them to take her out somewhere with no one around. Someplace far, far away from civilization. Maybe Arizona or something.

So the rain was out. Anything more advanced with wind would leave her exhausted. Which left… clouds really. Hm… well, flying up to poke a cloud was probably a bad idea if she didn't want to be seen. This place was probably being watched religiously by the gangs in case anyone poked their noses out. And she wasn't exactly that good a flier… So maybe, just maybe, she could bring a cloud to her?

The thought of just making her own never crossed her mind as she looked up at the sky and stretched out a hand.

"What are you doing?" Inari asked curiously.

"Trying to grab a cloud," Taylor replied seriously. The fox stared quietly at her for a moment before turning her gaze skyward.

"I'd advise trying to call one rather than grab it," Inari suggested after a few moments of silent failure.

Call one? Taylor turned it over in her head. Well, it was worth a try. Her attempts to feel the clouds well enough to pull them down to her were failing before they could even begin. "Do I talk to the sky or?" Taylor trailed off, looking to Inari expectantly.

"Well, you are a Goddess of Storms. They should respond to your thoughts if you direct them correctly," Inari said after a few moments of thought.

Direct her thoughts, okay sure. Directing thoughts. She frowned up at the sky and reached out a hand again. 'Come to me,' She thought. Nothing. She made a little beckoning motion. 'Come to me.'

'Fall.'

'Float down.'

'Just get down here!'

Taylor tried a few dozen different ways of saying it with her mind before she frowned and let her hand fall, trying to project her disappointment up towards the sky as she did so. "That didn't go anywhere," She sighed.

"Are you sure?" Inari asked. Her voice was tinged with amusement as she stared up into the sky.

Slowly Taylor looked back up. She blinked. Did the sky seem a bit cl- With a rumble of displaced air, everything disappeared in a blanket of wet fog. Taylor blinked. "Um…" She said into the empty whiteness that had replaced the yard.

"Maybe next time you should specify how much cloud you want Taylor," Inari said with a snicker.

She flushed but privately admitted that Inari probably had a point. She stood up. The air felt thick, like a river rather than vapour. She could barely see her hand in front of her face with how thick it was. She waved her hand in a futile attempt to give herself a bit of clearance. To her surprise the small flick of her wrist sent the heavy fog scuttling away from her, leaving a clear circle five across centred on her. Inari looked up at her.

"I was wondering when you'd try that," She said, standing up and stretching.

Taylor waved a hand through the cloud and it clung to her fingers, trailing after her. She could feel the clouds around her now that she had a little space and- "Oh I'm an idiot," She groaned. "Its water. Clouds are water." She gathered a small globe of water in her hand from the air and rolled it between her fingers like a marble.

"True," Inari nodded, "But is that the only way you can manipulate it?"

The fingers toying with the marble of water paused as Taylor frowned thoughtfully. She considered the fog surrounding her. She could feel the currents of air sluggishly flowing through them. She could feel the water that made them up. She ran a finger through the edge of the cloud and watched as the material swirled around it. It was water, but it was also air.

Very strange.

She let the marble fall to the grass where it splattered. She gripped the edge of the cloud and reached deep within, gasping a vast swathe with both of her abilities. Her grip with both wavered and she stumbled back, wincing a little at a spike of pain. "Ow," She muttered.

"Having issues?" Inari asked.

"Yeah," She winced, "I tried to grab it in two different ways at the same time."

Inari winced. "Ah, overlapping domains. Tricky. Which part of yourself takes precedence. The Sea, or The Storm? I've had that happen a few times."

"Really?" Taylor asked, waiting as the pain began to subside.

"Two words: Industrial Agriculture," Inari deadpanned, "I had migraines for a decade."

"I'd rather avoid that," Taylor muttered. Having headaches every time she tried to interact with a cloud would get really old, really fast.

"Well, your issue is less conceptual than mine was," Inari said, sitting down by her feet again. "Let us start with the basics. First, feel the cloud with both of your domains. Do nothing with them. Just feel."

With trepidation, Taylor reached out with both senses. She felt the water around her. She felt the stiff, lifeless breezes flowing around. She swayed as the world seemed to double over itself. "Um, is it supposed to do the whole two is one thingy?" Taylor asked, putting a hand to her mouth. She was feeling a bit sick.

"Two is- Oh, it might be best to sit down if you're feeling queasy." Taylor immediately sat down on the damp grass. Inari nodded. "Okay, now just sit here and feel. Don't do anything but feel."

Feeling was the issue, however. Still, Taylor did as instructed and after a few minutes, during which Inari continued to provide calm instruction, it subsided. Mostly. "Now, how do you feel?" Inari asked eventually.

"Good? A little off, but better than earlier," Taylor said, petting one of her own tails as she sat on the damp grass.

"Good. Now we are going to try something. A small thing, but something," Inari said, "Reach out for the cloud with both domains. Do not grasp it. Reach for it. Feel it brush against you. Touch the cloud with your hand if you wish. Do not grasp it."

Taylor reached out with her hand and her power at once. She brushed the edge of the cloud dome she had created with one hand at the same time as she did with her powers. The interior surface of the dome rippled from that spot outwards. It swayed in her perceptions, wriggling beneath her touch.

"Do you need to stop?" Inari asked.

Taylor shook her head. "I'm good."

"Very well. Now, slowly, with both domains, grasp the edge of the cloud," Inari instructed.

The young Goddess frowned. That was what had caused her issues before, but… She took a deep breath and grasped the edge of the cloud. Only the edge, no more than the depth of her fingers as she physically reached into the cloud. It felt solid, yet spongy. It was strange, like something that was neither water nor air but wasn't truly solid either. She sat there waiting for further instruction and the longer she waited the more the cloud felt… real maybe? Clouds felt real before, right? She was struggling to find the words to describe what she was feeling beneath her hands.

"Do you have a grasp on it?" Inari eventually asked.

"Yeah," Taylor said, distractedly.

"Good. Now peel it away from the wall and set it down," Inari instructed.

She spared a confused glance for her guide. Peel a cloud? What? "Um?"

"Just peel it, and see what happens," Inari prodded. Deciding to trust Inari she grabbed the edge of the cloud and pulled. It came away in a sheet from the wall. An ethereal sheet as thick as a slice of cake that hung from her hands like cloth.

"What the hell?" Taylor stared at it as Inari nodded.

"Good job. Now lay it here," Inari tapped the dirt beside her. Thoroughly befuddled Taylor lay the strip of cloud out on the ground. "Now do it again."

"Again?"

"Again," Inari nodded firmly, "Practice makes perfect." Just deciding to go with it she repeated the process seven more times, piling each 'sheet' of cloud atop the last. By the time she was done, the pile of cloud came up to her knees.

"And what was the point of this?" Taylor asked pointedly.

Inari smirked and pointed to the cloud. "Lie down and I'll tell you," She said.

Lie- "It's a cloud, not a mattress," Taylor deadpanned, "You can't sleep on a cloud."

"Nor can you peel it apart like sheets of paper stuck together," Inari replied before waving to the mattress with her paw again. "Now, lie down."

Taylor reached out and touched the 'mattress' of cloud. It squished beneath her touch like it had been since she started holding it. It sprang back into shape as she removed her hand. "Huh," She muttered. That was not normal cloud behaviour. With a shrug, she carefully sat down on the edge of it. It took her weight easily. She stared and patted the mattress with a hand. Small bits of cloud-stuff puffed away and vaporized. She glanced towards Inari who made a 'get on with it' gesture. Taylor sighed and let herself fall back into the cloud with a 'whoomph'.

She lay there for a long, long moment. "This is really comfy," She finally said, pulling herself onto the cloud properly. Her tails curled about her as she nestled into the cloud. God, she could fall asleep on this it was so nice. She yawned.

"See~ The great Inari-chan knows many wonderful secrets~" Inari announced smugly before getting serious, "Also, how is your head? How do your domains feel?"

Taylor, who was on the verge of passing out, blinked sleepily. "I- um… Oh," She blinked, "They feel fine. My head is be-be-betterrrr…" She passed out cuddling a pillow made of clouds.

On the floor beside her impromptu bed, Inari shook her head and grinned before hopping up onto the cloud. She patted down the area beside Taylor's head and curled up, touching tail to nose tip.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"Taylor."

Taylor grumbled and snuggled her tails.

"Taylor."

Her eyes opened, blinking blearily as a voice calling her name filtered through the veil of sleep. She blinked at the bright sunlight for the brief moment it was striking her face before a tall shadow stepped in front of it.

"Hey Taylor. Done sleeping on the job yet?" Vicky chirped, waving at her with a cheery smile.

Taylor stared at the heroine for a long moment. The only thought that crossed her mind was the question of _why_ such a famous heroine was currently in her room. Then a breeze ruffled her senses as it rolled over the area. Her mind rebooted. Eyes went very, very wide. "Oh god," She gasped, sitting upright on what she realized was the same cloud mattress she had put together.. "How long?"

"Quite a while Ms. Hebert," A familiar voice spoke up from her right. Taylor twisted on the spot, disturbing Inari who grumbled and nuzzled her tail in her sleep, to face Dr. Chambers. She found the doctor a dozen feet away beneath a tent that had been set up on the gravel. She was sitting on a folding chair and taking notes on the tablet resting on her crossed legs.

The doctor adjusted her glasses with her middle finger. "I would have allowed more time, however, I am afraid we have run out of time for this particular period of experimentation. We will have to set up a proper test scenario at a later date," She said.

"Later date? For what?" Taylor asked as she looked around.

Dr. Chambers pointed the stylus in her fingers down at the cloud mattress. "I find it quite interesting that despite the fog you called down upon everything within a mile-"

"A mile?" Taylor choked. Beside her Inari cracked open an eye. A very definite smirk crossed the fox's face before the eye shut. The smirk remained.

"Yes, a mile," The older woman continued, "While the fog lifted after about thirty-five minutes you have remained asleep upon that mattress, which I may note is solid only for you and your projection, for the last three hours."

Taylor blushed heavily and buried her face in the cloud that she had been using as a very nice pillow. She could feel it quiver in the light breeze sweeping the yard. Now that she was awake, and not focusing on it, she could feel the edges of the cloud starting to fray. She could probably fix it, but would be the point now?

"Need a hand?" Vicky asked as she hovered, literally, by her bedside.

"I'm good," Taylor said with a shake of her head. She pushed herself upright and stretched, yawning loudly. She poked Inari with a tail. "C'mon, time to get up," She said as Inari batted at the tail.

One eye opened. "Fiiine," The white fox whined. She was stretching at Taylor swung her legs over the side of the mattress and hopped down. As Taylor left the mattress Inari abrupt disappeared through the cloud with a startled yelp. "TAYLOR!" Came the aggrieved protest of her advisor.

Taylor snickered and shook her head. Something was- oh. "Where's Aegis?" She asked.

"I sent him to help get things ready for the next event today," Dr. Chambers said, "I'm afraid you not only ran through the allotted time for this experiment but the next as well. As such we are moving onto the last item on today's agenda."

"Oh," Her blush redoubled as Inari sulked out from within the slowly dissipating cloud.

Vicky threw an arm around her shoulder. "Don't worry about it," She grinned as she leaned on Taylor. "This happens all the time."

The doctor nodded. "We will have to schedule another appointment in the future, but at this point, I suspect it will simply be one of the standard tests all wards are periodically required to take." She made a note on her tablet and stood up.

"So, not tomorrow?" Taylor asked. She hoped not. As interesting as the exploration of her powers was, it was really getting tiring… enough that she could apparently sleep for three hours in a field. On a cloud.

Her life was getting weird.

With no sign that she had any idea of the blossoming existential crisis inside Taylor's head Dr. Chambers shook her head. "We are booked for Friday and it would be best if we could take tomorrow to finish the repairs to the facilities. In addition, we have plenty of material to analyze. We will see about scheduling you for more testing once our preliminary findings are complete. Now, this way please," With that, the Doctor turned and walked back towards the facility.

Taylor scooped up Inari and took to the air again, though only by a few inches. It was good practice. Vicky floated beside her. She was floating backwards, her arms held behind her back. "What's it like sleeping on a cloud?" Vicky asked.

"Hm? Oh," Taylor pondered how to describe it. "It's… The cloud is there for me, but its like its spongy. Not wet or anything, but just conforms to whatever pressure I put on it? It was really comfy though." She shrugged.

"You looked comfy," Victoria commented. "Hmm," The blonde hummed, crossing her arms.

"What?" Taylor asked.

She shook her head. "Nothing much. Just boggling at your luck," She said with a sigh. "I mean, first you got hydrokinesis. Then whatever you call controlling storms, and then to top it off you're an Alexandria package as well."

"Goddess~" Inari sang softly, getting a groan from Taylor.

"Don't you start," She groused. The last thing she wanted was for everyone to start thinking she had a few screws loose.

"Then there's that," Victoria snickered, "Why does she keep calling you a Goddess?" To Taylor's surprise, she sounded more curious than anything.

"It's a long story," Taylor sighed, "We don't really have time to go over it today."

"Mm, one of those. I hate ending up in the centre of one of those kinda stories. No one ever wants to listen to you," The blonde sighed, "I've got a few weird ones myself. Like the time I caught Purity kissing some guy atop Medhall."

"Wait, Purity? The E88 cape?" Taylor asked.

"Mhmm," Vicky nodded, "About six months ago. She got really annoyed when she noticed me." She winced and rubbed her shoulder. "Blasted me clear across the city before I could do more than shout at her. I landed somewhere out in the bay."

"Ow," Taylor winced. That had to have hurt.

Vicky waved her off. "I was fine, but I really wish I'd gotten a picture. No one believes me because, well, its Medhall," She shrugged. "Anyway, you run into weird things all the time as a cape."

Taylor snorted. "I think my story is a bit weirder than a gossip column story," She replied.

Vicky rolled her eyes. "Would you rather hear about the time Armsmaster and Skidmark got into a fight in a mud pit?" She asked.

"A mud pit? Here in the Bay?"

"Mhmm," Vicky nodded, "Something to do with an underground fighting ring Squealer was running. Anyway, I've got tons of stories. You up for a trade?" She leaned towards Taylor with an eager grin.

"Maybe when we have time," Taylor hedged. If she had it her way there would never be enough time.

Their group entered the building and Dr. Chambers led them upstairs via one of the staircases for once. Vicky nearly floated backwards into one of the walls and certainly would have done so if Taylor hadn't gently spun the other girl around in time for her to notice the wall. It surprised her just how scatterbrained the other girl could get when chatting. She tended to fixate on the conversation rather than where she was going.

Waiting for them in the upstairs hallway was Aegis along with a young brunette woman with long hair wearing a black PRT coat. "Dr. Chambers, I was wondering how much longer it would take you," The young woman greeted with a nod.

"Science proceeds at its own pace Ms. Sable," Dr. Chambers replied tersely. She adjusted her glasses and turned to Taylor. "Ms. Hebert, Ms. Dallon, this is Ms. Sable of the Branding Department. She will be taking over for the rest of your time here today. I hope to see you again soon Ms. Hebert. Enjoy the rest of the day." With that, she left, sweeping by Taylor with her nose already buried in her tablet once again.

"Charming woman," Ms. Sable said dryly after the doctor had left. "I've met cacti with fewer spikes than she does." She turned a brilliant smile towards Taylor. "Ms. Hebert, my name is Patricia Sable. I am a Junior Brand Manager with the PRT's Image Department. I hope you're feeling fine after today's rigorous testing?"

"I'm fine," Taylor said.

"She just finished a three-hour power nap out in the yard. She's good to go," Vicky cheerfully added.

"Power nap?" Ms. Sable asked, a rather confused expression on her face.

"Um," Taylor brushed her hair out of her face, "I might have fallen asleep after testing a few things that were a bit difficult."

"The doctor decided to leave her be," Vicky continued to unhelpfully add, "Fell asleep on a mattress of clouds. Dr. Chambers wanted to see how long they'd last. They were still going five minutes ago."

"They were comfy," Taylor protested weakly.

Ms. Sable simply nodded. "Well, it's good to know the Doctor didn't wear you out completely then. Now, if you would follow me," She gestured further down the corridor and waited for Taylor and Victoria to join her.

"What are we doing now?" Victoria asked.

"Well, due to the discussions with your father Ms. Hebert," Ms. Sable glanced over to Taylor, "Branding has several things they would like to test which are outside of power testing. More skill-testing rather than power testing, though if there is some power you have that affects these areas we would certainly be interested in knowing."

"What skills?" Inari asked as Taylor went to speak.

"That should be obvious in a moment. Your father has signed off on this as well I should add," Ms. Sable came to a stop by an ordinary-looking beige door with a keycard scanner by the handle. She slipped the keycard from her pocket and tapped it to the scanner for the second it took for the door to ID her. She slapped the red button above the scanner. There was a buzz from somewhere behind the door, then after another second a click from the lock and she pulled it open to reveal an ordinary hallway behind.

"Aegis, if you would?" Ms. Sable said to the hero.

"Come on in you two. Probably the only time you'll get to see in here Glory," Aegis said to them, leading the way into the hallway. Ms. Sable gestured after him. Glory shrugged and floated after him. Taylor followed as well. The wall on the left was a one-way mirror. Someone was watching them as they walked the length of the hallway to another steel door. Aegis waved his own ID over the scanner by the door and elbowed it open when it clicked. He stepped aside, holding open the door. The hall beyond ran to the left with dark blue carpet and brown walls.

"Come on in," He said, waving them through. Glory Girl went first, floating curiously through the doorway. She paused the moment she turned the corner and her entire demeanour changed.

"Gallant!" She squealed. A surprised voice shouted "Vicky!" in reply as she zoomed out of sight. There was an oof and what might have been a crash. Aegis sighed. She could see a bemused smile beneath his mask.

"Ms. Hebert," Ms. Sable appeared by her side with a smile, "Please head in."

Taylor settled to the floor and walked the last couple of feet into the room, nodding thanks to Aegis as she passed. The room opened up into a common room type set up with three areas. A kitchen at the far end, a table with chairs to the left, and a sitting area with a TV large enough to cover most of the wall. Two full-sized couches and a trio of plush armchairs sat around the coffee table that was buried in a stack of pizza boxes. Racks of electronics sat on either side of the TV and included several game consoles. A sign hung from the side facing her.

'DO NOT DISASSEMBLE OR REPURPOSE FOR TINKERTECH'

Speaking of tinkers, she could see a tinker in that room. The Ward's tinker Kid Win, in his red and gold armour with red visor, was lounging in one of the chairs working on a laptop. In fact, all of the wards were there.

There was Gallant in his medieval-knight inspired power armour, minus the helmet and wearing a domino mask, with Vicky draped over him on the couch. There, in one of the other chairs and looking rather disgusted at the sight, was Vista. The littlest Ward was mock - at least she thought it was mock - gagging at the kisses Glory Girl was raining on Gallant.

Back in the kitchen was an older teenager in gold-coloured plate mail with a lion-styled helmet and shoulder pads. The leader of the Wards was turning towards the commotion from where he was shaking a bag of chips into a bowl.

The final member of the Wards was wearing a skin-tight white costume with white plates, and clocks on his wrists and chest. His faceless helmet was missing in exchange for a domino mask. "You weren't lying Vista. She really is a fox." He called across the room, waving a hand to her. "Hey, I'm Clockblocker."

"Um, hello?" She waved, a blush already fighting its way onto her cheeks.

"Easy there Clock," Aegis said as he appeared at her shoulder. "Everyone, may I introduce you to Taylor Hebert. With luck, our next teammate." He patted her on the shoulder and walked around the chair to the pizza. "Tell me you left me some."

Kid Win looked up from his laptop. "Hi," He waved. The rest of the room echoed him, with Vista somehow stepping from her chair to Taylor's side in a single blurry motion.

"Hi Taylor," Vista chirped from a foot in front of her, "Hello Inari." She reached up and scratched the white fox behind an ear.

"Oooh, you know how to say hello~" Inari sighed, melting in Taylor's arms. She rolled her eyes.

"Lazy," She sighed, waving to Kid Win.

Ms. Sable chuckled as she shut the door behind them. "Alright, I see you're getting acquainted. Well, except for Gallant. Glory Girl, get off the boy, please."

It was an embarrassed blonde that stopped kissing her boyfriend and sat back. "Sorry," She mumbled, turning an impressive shade of red. Gallant sat up, a bit of a dazed look. He spotted Taylor and waved.

"Hi there. Nice to meet you. I'm Gallant," He shook his head and gaze Vicky an exasperated look. "You know if I wasn't wearing power armour."

"Oh shut up," Vicky sighed as the rest of the room, sans Vista, chuckled.

"Enough everyone," Ms. Sable clapped her hands together. Everyone quieted down and turned to her. "Now," She began, "Ms. Hebert, Wards… Glory Girl," She acknowledged the member of New Wave in the room, "This is a meet and greet so please try and get along. Normally these are entirely freeform. Tonight, however, I'm afraid I have one request that cannot be denied." She pointed to the far left corner by the table where a microphone sat on a stand next to the bastard child of a radio and a jukebox.

"You want us to sing karaoke?" Triumph asked with disbelief. The older teen sighed and rubbed his forehead. "You realize what my power is right?"

"And you are excused Triumph," Ms. Sable replied without missing a beat. "However, everyone else must sing at least one song tonight. It does not have to be a solo, but no more than a duet, please."

Taylor groaned. In her arms, Inari snickered. "This is what you meant by a 'skill' challenge," She realized.

"That it is. At the request of Glenn if you want anyone to hang for it," Ms. Sable said, earning groans from all the Wards in the room. She smiled. "I know, I know," She said in a consoling tone that said she most certainly didn't. "Now, have fun. I'll be back in three hours and anyone who hasn't sung will have to then. Bye," She waved and ducked back out of the room.

"Well," Everyone turned to Clockblocker, "Who's up for 'Don't Stop Believing'?" A bag of potato chips, courtesy of Triumph, smacked him upside the head.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A half-hour later found Taylor taking up most of a couch by herself with Vista taking up what little space remained. Inari was half-buried in the fluff of Taylor's tails with her head in the young Ward's lap. One of Vista's hands was busy petting the white fox. The rest of the Wards were scattered about the room, but they had split into two groups. Clockblocker, and everyone else.

Taylor winced as Clockblocker, who was far too sober to not realize just how bad his singing was, belted out another out of tune line about robots from mars. "You know," She said to Vista, "Listening to a hero fail at karaoke really takes the shine off them."

The younger girl snorted. "That's Clock for you," She snarked, "It could be a lot worse."

Taylor considered that. Did she really want to know? "How?" She asked. Yes, yes she did apparently.

"He serenaded Trill for fifty minutes with increasingly terrible happy birthday songs during a patrol," Kid Win said before leaning back in his chair to look at Clockblocker. "Can you shut up for five minutes Clock? We're trying to have a conversation and it's impossible with your caterwauling."

Vista leaned over to Taylor and added quietly, "That singing got them both dumped into the M/S tank for the rest of the day."

What was the M/S Tank, Taylor wondered.

Across the room, Clockblocker stopped singing. He waved the mic at Kid Win. "I have you know that my singing is a treat for the ears," He declared.

Taylor's eyes slid back to Vista. "Is he serious?" She mouthed. The younger girl sighed and buried her face in her hands.

"My fans would line up around the block for days if I had a concert. Record labels would jockey for my attention." Taylor stared for a few moments as Clockblocker continued to elaborate on his 'incomparable musical talent' while the electronic beat continued to play in the background. Then a pillow thrown by Aegis smacked him in the face. Clockblocker was grinning as the pillow dropped. "Well," He said, bowing to his very unimpressed audience, "I suppose I could rest my voice."

Vicky shook her head. "Do you have an off-switch somewhere?" She groaned.

"He does. It's called a concussion," Kid Win sighed.

"So cruel. So, so cruel," Clockblocker sighed as he hung up the microphone and turned off the karaoke track. "So, you guys think that they're still listening in on us?" He asked, dropping into one of the folding chairs.

Triumph snorted. "I'm sure whoever's been ordered to listen in probably hates you with a passion by now," He replied before turning away from Clock. "So, Taylor," He said to her, "Now that Clock is done destroying our hearing."

"Oi! My singing is not that bad," Clockblocker protested. Vicky threw a pillow at him. It knocked him off his chair. "Ow, abuse! This is abuse of the comedian! Someone call the cops."

"We are the police," Kid Win pointed out.

"Correction, we are the junior police. At best," Clock responded, pointing a finger at Kid Win from his place on the floor, "Someone call the actual police." Everyone else ignored him.

"How're you handling the tests so far?" Triumph asked.

"Fine? I think we're done for now though," Taylor shrugged, "The Doctor seemed to think they had enough information for the moment."

"I hate it when they do that," Vista groaned, "It means that you'll get called in again in a week or so."

Taylor shrugged. She wouldn't know, but Vista had been a Ward for years and had probably been through the whole dog and pony show a few times. "I don't think they know what to make of me," She sighed.

"The list of what powers you don't have is shorter than the ones you do," Vicky pointed out from where she leaning against Gallant. He whispered something to her and she rolled her eyes.

Taylor shifted uncomfortably. "I guess? I mean, I don't have any sort of master, changer, or stranger powers." No mind control from her. No transformations, and no invisibility or the like.

"So you're a tinker?" Kid Win asked.

"Well, no. I've just got flight, superstrength, durability, speed, hydrokinesis. I think aerokinesis, and whatever you call lightning…" She blushed. 'Just' was such a misleading word. "... it is a bit much," She admitted.

Triumph chuckled. "And I thought I hit the lottery with sound manipulation and a bit of super strength." He shook his head. "I know you haven't signed anything yet, but we're glad to have you."

"Thanks," Taylor nodded, looking about the room. An awkward silence was settling over them as no one seemed sure of what to say. They all seemed nice so far, even Clockblocker seemed more of a goof than malicious, but how much was them just wanting to make a good impression and how much was true?

Aegis slapped the arms of his chair and stood up. "Right, well this is getting a bit awkward. So why don't we get started on this karaoke thing branding wants us to do?" He stretched. Taylor would deny it if asked, but her eyes lingered on the rippling muscle underneath his skin-tight suit. Aegis was buff like a professional athlete and the outfit did nothing to hide that fact.

"Let's get the seats turned about. Triumph, gimme a hand?" Aegis said as he walked over to one end of Taylor's couch.

"Uuuh, guys?" Taylor said hesitantly as the leader of the Wards joined the resident flying brick in taking up positions on opposite sides of Taylor's couch.

"Don't worry. We've done this before. Just relax and enjoy," Aegis said as he bent down and grabbed the couch with two hands. Panic surged through Taylor for a moment, but a fear of being dumped on the floor, not that it would hurt, led to her freezing as the two of them picked up the couch.

She glanced at Vista as the two boys turned the couch towards to Karaoke console. The younger girl barely seemed to pay attention as she scratched Inari behind the ears. The Fox was eating up the attention and seemed incapable of realizing what was going on. 'So much for being a millennia-old goddess,' she snarked in her head.

As the couch was set down the rest of the Wards and Vicky were already in motion. Chairs were spun and couches were moved. The coffee table was carried, pizza boxes and all, to the correct side of the furniture, and the large dining table was shuffled out of the way. The microphone was moved to the center of the room, but the cables for the machine prevented it from being moved as well.

"Give me ten minutes and I could-" Kid Win began.

"No tinkering with the equipment Kid," Triumph cut him off. He pointed to the sign Taylor had noticed earlier.

"But that's referring to the racks, not the karaoke machine," The young tinker protested.

"Do you really think they'll care about the difference?" Clockblocker asked him from where he was sitting at the big table. He was snacking on a plate of pepperoni pizza.

"We know they don't," Aegis added, patting Kid on the shoulder. "Probably for the best. The machine doesn't need a laser cannon."

"Once. Once," Kid groaned to the snickering of the rest. He flopped into his chair. "So, who goes first?"

"Not me," Taylor said immediately, shaking her head firmly. She would put that off for as long as possible. Why did she have to sing anyway? What sort of plan were they coming up with that required her to _sing?_

"I'm sure everyone prefers having their hearing," Triumph said, cracking open a bottle of french onion dip.

"By all means, sit this one out, oh glorious leader," Clockblocker said, standing up.

"And Clock has hogged the mic enough tonight," Aegis said, taking the microphone himself. With a disappointed sigh, Clockblocker flopped back into his chair.

"Then go ahead Aegis. Show me up," Clockblocker said, settling back into his chair with a chuckle.

"So what're you going to sing Aegis?" Vicky asked.

He chuckled. "No idea," He admitted as he walked over to the machine and started going through the list. "Just need to see what this thing actually has." A few minutes later he took the binders sitting on top over to the table.

"Do you even know any songs?" Kid asked.

"Do you?" Aegis responded as he flipped through the book.

"Uuh," Kid glanced around, "Maybe we should all take a look at that list then?" He kicked down the footstool of the armchair and hurried over to the table. "Vista? Gallant?" He called.

Vista sighed. "Coming," She groaned, setting Inari aside. "Sorry," She said apologetically.

"It's okay," Inari sighed, flopping back into Taylor's tails. "I have these to cuddle." Taylor rolled her eyes, but did nothing as the ex-deity dug into the tangled nest that was her tails.

"Gallant?" Vista prodded when the armoured hero remained where he was.

"I'm good. I think Vicky has a plan?" He turned to his girlfriend.

Vicky grinned. "Duuueeeet~" She sang high and clear. Taylor felt a flash of jealousy. It was the sort of singing voice that people would want to listen to for days.

"What I'd like to know is what Branding is thinking," Gallant ran a hand through his hair. "Are they planning on seeing if we can sing jingles or something else ridiculous?"

"Oh god no," Vista groaned, "I refuse to sing for a commercial or something stupid like that. Fuck that."

"Vista," Triumph said warningly.

She huffed. "You were thinking it," She grumbled.

"Hmm," Gallant leaned forward, resting his chin on his elbow.

"Ideas Gallant?" Vicky asked.

"This isn't normal for Branding I take it?" Taylor asked.

The armoured knight shook his head. "Nope. This is just weird."

Taylor frowned and toyed with a tail. "Well… What is Branding normally anyway? I mean, this seems to be caused by me, but I thought my case was being handled by Glenn Chambers."

"You have Glenn?" Vista said, her face and tone conveying the message of 'you poor bastard' quite well.

"Gee, way to make it sound like I'm about to be sacrificed," Taylor frowned. The younger girl winced.

"Sorry, it's just we've all had at least one meeting with him," Vista said.

"He's a weird one," Triumph agreed, "Glenn is Head of Image for the PRT and Protectorate. He heads up both PR and Branding. As far as I'm aware he spends most of his time jumping around tackling PR problems in problem areas. Naturally, that means we've all had to get help from him at least once."

"I haven't," Aegis pointed out. He had stopped flipping through the book.

"That might make you the only person I know who hasn't," Triumph sighed. "Your time will come."

"Am I a problem case?" Taylor asked. She didn't think she was… Everyone winced as their ears popped.

Triumph backed up a step waving his hands in the air. "No, no not at all. Glenn tends to stick around for a bit if someone catches his eye," Triumph said, "You don't have a criminal record or anything, right?" She shook her head. "Exactly. At a guess, I'd say you've just managed to catch his eye then. He sees something in you, or thinks he does. It's usually protectorate capes, but I've heard of a few Wards over the years that he's helped micromanage."

Taylor made a face. "That sounds… creepy," She said. Her tails twitched.

"Annoying more like," Vista grumbled, "His ideas for costume are so impractical. Bleh."

Vicky rolled her eyes. "Anything that isn't head to toe kevlar and steel plates is too impractical for you." Vista stuck her tongue out but didn't deny it.

"I spent a month with him after my introduction," Clockblocker chuckled. "Bit weird, but he got it better than that lady from before." Both Vista and Vicky rolled their eyes at him.

The pressure in the room dropped as Taylor untensed. People winced again as ears popped once more. "Sorry," She apologized as she realized what she had done. "I've just been a bit nervous about this whole thing." A major understatement. The entire process was absolutely nerve-wracking and sleep hadn't exactly been easy every night since it started.

"We get it. Don't worry," Vicky floated over and gave her a hug. "We've all been… well, they've all been where you are. I just had the short time before I came out a couple years ago." Taylor leaned into the hug and sighed.

A loud clap came from the table. "Right, I'm ready. Everyone grab a book and start going through them," Aegis said as he walked around the room and passed out books. Taylor accepted one as Vicky zipped back over to her boyfriend. The blonde settled down in his lap as she flipped through the binder.

"So what're you going to sing?" Triumph asked.

"A song," Aegis said, stepping up to the machine. "Since you're not singing, try and guess what it is." He picked up the microphone from its cradle.

"Maybe I will," Triumph chuckled. The older hero leaned back in his chair.

Aegis flicked a few switches on the karaoke machine and turned to them, raising the microphone as the first few delicate bars of music began to play. The gentle reverberation of the air ruffled her new senses pleasantly

"And now, the end is near." Taylor stared as Aegis crooned into the microphone.

"And so I face the final curtain,

My friend, I'll say it clear

I'll state my case, of which I'm certain

I've lived a life that's full

I travelled each and every highway

And more, much more than this

I did it my way~"

Taylor had to admit, he wasn't Frank Sinatra, but Aegis was a surprisingly good singer.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It wasn't the last song Aegis sang that night, but eventually, he had to step aside for a rather bombastic duet performance of Shania Twain's 'Party for Two'. Honestly, the best part had been watching the shades of red Vista's face had turned along with the variously disgusted faces she had sent Vicky's way. In a way, Taylor had to feel a bit sorry for the younger girl. This entire thing was probably a bit too 'grown-up' for her.

Aegis had managed to slide back in, cutting off Clockblocker, with another song, this time from Johnny Cash. Then it was Vista's turn. Her rendition of 'I just can't wait to be king' from the Lion King had Clockblocker leaning over to Triumph. Taylor was fairly sure she wasn't supposed to hear his whispered comment of "You better watch your back Triumph. She's getting ambitious." Triumph snorted and flipped him off.

Aegis was a better singer than Vista, but fortunately, her song typically benefited from a younger voice and enthusiasm. As she wound down Clockblocker went to stand up, only for Aegis to once again sweep in to take the microphone. As he started singing 'Ring of Fire' By Johnny Cash Taylor was left with the feeling that Aegis had had way too much of Clockblocker's singing.

She leaned back and let the music, as iffy as the assorted singers were, flow over her. It would be her turn eventually. She grimaced faintly. Singing in front of people. Sure they were being mostly quiet about it, but there was certainly some ribbing going around whenever someone flubbed a line or spent half a song out of sync with the background music. As Kid Win stood up to take his turn keeping Clockblocker off the mic Taylor opened the binder.

The first few pages were titles, disclaimers, and the other usually fluff. She flicked passed it to the list of music. It was a fairly hefty list. Not surprising since the binder had to be at least three hundred pages thick. Each page had at least two songs stuffed onto it. The words were small enough she had to wonder what the creators were thinking.

Probably how to fit six hundred songs into three hundred pages.

She ignored the rap section and barely skimmed the pop songs. Rock was, eh a mixed bag. Country was ignored. She just couldn't see herself being that loud. Pages of jazz, folk, and even a few marching songs were passed by without comment.

Victoria dragged Gallant up for another round as Kid Win finished.

The songs passed into heavy metal and Taylor made a face. Nope. Just nope. She paused a few pages later on a song she recognized. 'In Sumerian Haze' by Sirenia. It was rather dark, but fairly quiet. Not her usual tastes, but she knew it thanks to Emma. Her little smile wavered at the thought of her former friend. A few years back Emma had decided that she was 'goth' and that was it. For maybe two weeks, then the hair dye incident had happened and that was it for the other girl. Taylor had kept listening to the songs Emma had found for the rest of the year.

It would do, she supposed. That is, if she really wanted to get up there and sing. She gently bit her lip. The lady from Branding said she had to but… she drummed her fingers on the open binder in her lap. It meant getting up in front of people and, potentially, making a fool of herself. When was the last time she sang anyway? She couldn't remember. Probably sometime before her mother died. Before Emma turned on her.

She nibbled her lip.

She glanced down at the page again. The song wasn't her really. It was too dark, and she had enough dark thoughts going around that she didn't need to add to them. But, it was quiet. It was simple, as simple as singing could be anyway. Her ears twitched as Vicky hit a particularly high note. She could feel the air quiver like a tightly wound string as Vicky and Gallant sang back and forth.

She watched the two heroes as they sang back and forth. There was no nervousness on either of their faces as they traded back and forth. Vicky just seemed to bubble with enthusiasm as much as talent. It was impressive how open she seemed to be. No fear of failure or ridicule, just a girl and her boyfriend having fun with friends.

These people were going to be her teammates in a few days. Maybe they deserved a chance to be her friends before she tied herself up in what-ifs and maybes.

She shifted, gently brushing Inari out from amidst her tails. "I need to take my turn," She told her softly. Inari sighed dramatically but nodded her understanding before she hopped off and walked over to where Vista was getting a plate of pizza. Probably to steal some from the younger girl's plate.

Taylor stood up and followed, borrowing a plate from the pile in the kitchen. She snagged a piece of Hawaiian pizza. "I'll go next," She said quietly to Triumph.

"You sure? No offence, but this doesn't really seem like your kind of thing," The older boy said.

"She said we all had to so might as well get it out of the way," Taylor sighed before digging into the slice. It was getting towards being lukewarm at best, but pizza was pizza and warm or cold it was delicious. She ate quickly as she waited for Vicky and Gallant to finish their song. She was only partway through the pizza when they finished.

"Taylor is up next," Triumph said as Aegis and Clockblocker both went to get up again. Aegis dropped back into his seat.

"Well, she's still eating so I'll just-" Taylor hooked the time-controller around the waist with a tail and pulled him back into his armchair. "Or, maybe not." He shrugged helplessly. He gave her nearest tail a careful glance. "How strong are you? That looks like nothing but fluff, but it might as well have been steel."

"Fiftyish tons," Taylor said before taking another bite of the pizza.

"More than enough to put you in your place Clock," Aegis chuckled, "Let her have a turn. We don't need you wrecking our ears anymore."

"You're just jealous," Clock chuckled.

Rolling her eyes, Taylor finished her pizza and wiped her hands off on a paper towel before moving over to the machine. She snagged the microphone on her way by. As she tapped through the menus on the karaoke machine she could feel the eyes of the group on her. She shivered.

"So, what're you singing Taylor?" Vicky asked.

"Just something I actually know," Taylor sighed, "An old friend went through a goth phase and wouldn't stop playing this song for all three weeks it lasted."

Vicky snorted. "Three weeks?"

"Mhmm. Bad hair dye does that," Taylor snickered, "But, she never stopped playing this song. Nice and simple, if a bit dark."

"Simple? Where's your sense of adventure?" Clockblocker protested, his hands held out plaintively. "Reach for the stars. Dare to sing big."

"Unlike you, I think she'd rather avoid having the stars fall on her instead," Vista snarked.

"Cold Vista, so cold," Clockblocker sighed.

And there was the song, far, far down the list. Taylor queued it up on the player and reached for the play button. Her finger hovered over the button as she hesitated. Swallowing her nervousness she pressed the button and turned back to the group. She took a deep breath to steady herself as the first cords of an electric guitar and a violin began to play. The air rippled with the music, vibrating as it flowed through the room. She let herself sway with the air, becoming one with it for but a moment as she tried to find the nerve to sing.

She closed her eyes as she listened to the music play and waited for her moment. Just over thirty seconds in she began to sing.

"In Sumerian haze you search for another day

Guess another vail left you this way

Thoughts on a line where I leave it all behind

Nothing can mend the hurt inside"

She didn't open her eyes. Didn't look at the faces watching her. She just focused on the song. Her voice was rough to her own ears. Too sharp, too flat, too all over the place. She tried to fix it as she went, but to her own ears, it sounded like a cat trying to sing the blues. As she trailed off and let the instrumental play itself out she could feel a blush forming.

The music came to an end and she opened her eyes. Everyone was staring at her. Her ears twitched nervously and she brought a tail around to hold as the rest hung low. They weren't saying anything. They were just sitting, staring at her like statues. "So… That bad?" She asked softly. That seemed to break whatever spell was on them as Vicky bounced off the couch and across the room.

"Bad? That was amazing~" Taylor squeaked as Vicky spun her around, tangling them in the microphone cable.

"Cable, cable!" Taylor said as it wrapped about one of her tails. It didn't hurt, but it was pulling on both her and the machine. Breaking the machine was not something she wanted to do that day.

"I- Oh shit. Sorry," Vicky blushed and put Taylor down.

"That was brilliant," Vista said, appearing like magic with an odd twist of space as Taylor and Vicky disentangled themselves from the cables. "A bit dark at the end though," She frowned.

"It is. I'm not really too fond of songs like it," Taylor sighed. There was a time when she could have listened to music like it all day, but these days it just made her feel worse. She really didn't need help feeling bad. "And, really my singing was terrible. I kept going too high or falling flat. I sounded terrible."

Vicky just looked at her, microphone cable held in her hands. Taylor squirmed nervously. "What?" She asked.

The blonde just shook her head. "I can't tell if your standards are that high, or if you're just oblivious," She sighed before dropping the cable and turning to the rest of the group "Hey guys, she sounded amazing, right?"

Clockblocker started applauding while the rest nodded and grinned. "Sounded amazing to me," Aegis said.

"She sounds better than you," Kid Win said, throwing up his hands in a warding gesture as Vicky mimed throwing something at him.

"Uuuuh?" Taylor blinked at them. Were they serious? She sounded terrible. She looked to Inari. "Tell them they're crazy," She told the former goddess who was sitting on the table eating from a box of pizza that she had claimed at some point during Taylor's song.

"Goddess~" Came the ever-annoying refrain from Inari. "Face it Taylor, you're never going to be just 'okay' anymore." Taylor briefly considered throwing the microphone at Inari. She didn't, but it was so tempting.

"What is with that by the way?" Clock asked, pointing at Inari. "She's said that what, four or five times since you got here?"

Taylor groaned. "Strange power quirks," She explained. It was even technically true if you listened to the PRT.

"Huh," Clockblocker stroked his chin. "Normally that's stuff like 'can't control duration' or 'must eat chocolate to breathe fire'. Stuff like that. You don't normally hear of people's powers telling them they're gods."

"At least she's cute," Vista said, picking Inari off the table and claiming the pizza box before sitting down on the couch with both. She held a slice of pepperoni pizza up for Inari to snack on.

"Please stop feeding my power," Taylor deadpanned, "She already steals enough of my bacon."

"Feed me Vista~" Inari proclaimed between bites of pizza. Taylor just sighed as the others snickered. At least they liked her singing. She let Vicky drag her off 'stage' to sit with her and Gallant.

The last hour of the party passed with only a couple notable events. Chief amongst them was when Clockblocker managed to steal the mic long enough to sing 'I'm too sexy'. Taylor was very thankful that it only took a single tail to completely block out her sight. Somethings should not be allowed. The other notable event was when Vicky, ever irrepressible, dragged her up for a duet singing a pop song that she had never heard of before. Thank god for printed lyrics.

By the time Ms. Sable returned Taylor could say, with some reluctance, that she had enjoyed herself. The trip home was comparatively quiet and uneventful.

-0-0-0-0-0-

When Taylor arrived home she was surprised to find her dad's truck in the driveway. After the plainclothes PRT officers checked it was safe she was hustled to the garage side door and she let herself in. As she opened the door from the garage to the house she called, "Dad?" Inari scampered past her into the house.

"IN THE KITCHEN," Her dad called. She slipped down the hall and poked her head into the kitchen. Danny was sitting at the table with a box of Chinese take out and a stack of papers. "How was your day?" He asked as he looked up from the papers he was going over.

She blinked, then smiled. How long had it been since he asked her that? Months at least. It was nice to hear again. "Surprisingly, not too bad," She admitted, sliding over to the kitchen table. She peered over his shoulder at the papers. It was a breakdown of the cost of replacing steel rails for a railway. She winced at the numbers. "Better than yours by the looks of it."

He glanced down. "Yeah, but its not as bad as it looks. The rails were already scheduled for replacement next month. We're just moving the timetable up a bit. No issues with being poked and prodded all day?" He asked.

"I had a nice nap at the end actually. Then there was pizza," She said, watching him carefully.

He nodded. "That's why I didn't pick up more. Glenn Chambers said they'd feed you well." He shuffled the papers on the table into a neat pile before fishing out a thin folder. "The news said something about thick fog, however. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" He asked knowingly. She blushed.

"Oops?" She said weakly. He chuckled and sighed.

"At least it was just fog this time. The docks had a rude guest today. Here," He opened the folder and laid its contents out across the table, "Inari you'll want to see this as well." The white fox leapt up onto a chair, then the tabletop. "I had Kurt take these before the PRT showed up. What do you think?"

Taylor leaned passed her dad to get a closer look at the nearly a dozen photos. She picked one up. "Is that a great white?" She asked.

"No," Inari said with a frown. "That is a very young megalodon. Very young."

"So that boy was right. Imagine that." Danny muttered. She wondered who he was talking about.

"What's that sticking out of it?" Taylor asked. Danny shifted photos and pulled a close up of the object sticking out of it to her attention. Taylor and Inari leaned over it. "That is a trident," She observed.

"More than just a trident," Inari frowned. "That is Cyclopean manufacture. I recognize the style. Poseidon owned dozens of them. He tended to break them when things really got going."

"Cyclops? Like from the Odyssey? I thought you said the gods were dead?" Danny asked, leaning forward himself.

Inari sighed and sat down, wrapping her tail around the front of her paws. "I said the Gods were dead, yes. Anything left is either not a god, or not a god anymore. Like me. Or them," She said, pointing to the trident. "The Cyclopes are not gods. They are related, but they are not, strictly speaking, gods. Spirits, powerful ones at that, but not gods. More importantly, they, or someone with access to their arms, has noticed you."

Taylor frowned and crossed her arms. "Is- Is that a bad thing?" She asked. Her right ear twitched nervously.

"If it's the cyclops? Then it could be very good. If it isn't? I really can't say," Inari confessed. "The interesting thing I note is the symbols on the trident. Foxes and lightning bolts. The implications are very interesting."

"And worrying," Taylor muttered, "Doesn't it take time to make something like this?"

Inari nodded. "Months, years even. I can't tell you the quality of the weapon without seeing it in person though. These photos just aren't good enough," She said to Danny.

He shrugged. "I'm sure the PRT will have better photos. Not sure if they'd share, however. They carted it off to god knows where this afternoon."

"No she doesn't," Inari said, getting blank stares for a few moments as she grinned. Then both Taylor and Danny groaned.

"No, just no," Taylor sighed. She tossed the photo she was examining back onto the pile. "Well, whatever is going on I don't care right now. I'm just going to go sit down on the couch and watch TV until I fall asleep."

Danny shuffled the photos back into their folder. "I'll finish up here then join you," He said, "Movie night?"

Taylor blinked. "Sure. Ideas?" She asked.

He shrugged. "Pull something out of the collection," He told her.

"I'll go get that ready then. See you in a minute," She gave him a hug then left the room humming ring of fire. Surprise mythological creatures or not, today was a good day.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The next day dawned quietly for Taylor. Without having to head in for testing she had slept in as her dad headed out early for more meetings about the damaged rail line, then the PRT later in the day. For her though? No testing. No practice. Nothing but the quiet laziness of cuddling a pillow underneath a blanket while watching cartoons in your pyjamas. Or what passed for pyjamas these days.

In the crook of her arm was a bowl of potato chips that she slowly nibbled on as she watched the TV. In all honesty, she had no idea what was going on. It was some Earth Aleph show that had a long running story that she knew nothing about, but it was better than everything else on TV at the moment. She didn't need to know what was going on to enjoy the action anyway.

At some point into the third episode of the same series - the channel was apparently doing a marathon - she heard knocking on the front door. She ignored it. She couldn't exactly answer a door looking like she did. Not yet anyway. A second knock, louder than the first, came a few seconds later.

"Are you going to get that?" Inari prodded.

"Looking like this?" Taylor rolled her eyes and nibbled more on her chips.

Inari stretched and hopped down. "They smell familiar," She said.

"They're on the porch. How can you smell them?" Taylor asked blandly, not really paying attention as whoever it was knocked again.

"That's why I can't tell who it is. There's a door in the way," Inari said, walking in the direction of the door. Taylor yawned and pulled her blanket up a bit further. She nibbled on a potato chip. Her ear twitched at the noise of something moving in the distance, then again at a click thunk noise.

Then the door opened and shut a moment later. Taylor frowned and set her bowl aside. "INARI! Did you let- Vicky?" She blinked as the superheroine floated in from the hallway with Inari in her arms.

"Heya Tay-tay~" Vicky greeted with a wave.

"Don't call me that," Taylor said reflexively. "And- how are you here? Why are you here?"

Vicky shrugged and held up Inari. "She let me in," She said before setting the fox down.

"Who said you need opposable thumbs to operate a door?" Inari grinned. Taylor stared at her flatly, then retrieved her bowl of chips.

"Well that doesn't really explain how, but why are you here Vicky?" She asked again.

Victoria shrugged and floated over to the armchair. She frowned as she sat down in it. "Is it just me or is this chair kinda grainy?" She asked.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "There was an incident with salt-water. Be glad we got it out of the carpet and couch. Why are you here?" She asked, mildly perturbed at the intrusion on her nice and quiet day of relaxation.

"Your dad thought that you'd been left alone too much recently so he called mum and asked me to come by. He didn't say anything?" Vicky asked.

"Not a word, though he was gone by the time I woke up," She shrugged. Potato chips crunched as she nibbled.

"Hmm… whatcha watching?" Vicky asked.

"Something from Aleph. I can't remember what it's called," Taylor said, watching as one of the main characters pointed a pink stick with a heart on it at a monster. A giant pink heart destroyed the monster a moment later, drawing winces from both Vicky and Taylor.

"That's an embarrassing way to go," The other girl noted.

"Mhmm," Taylor agreed through a mouthful of chips.

"Do you have any more of those?" Vicky pointed to the bowl of chips.

"In the cupboard beside the fridge," She replied, "Bowls are on the left." As Vicky floated out of her chair she added, "And can you get me a can of coke?"

"Not pepsi?" Vicky asked as she floated by.

Taylor snorted. "Don't tell me you're that kind of heretic," She said, sticking her tongue out at the other girl in distaste.

Vicky snickered. "I'm kidding. Maybe." She disappeared into the kitchen.

Taylor shifted around and pulled herself up until she was lounging against the armrest of the couch rather than lying on her side. She nibbled some more on the chips. "Why did you let her in?" She asked Inari quietly.

"You need the company," Inari yawned from her perch on the footstool, "Your dad and I talked about it last night."

"And you didn't think to mention it to me?" Taylor frowned. Vicky was… Well, she seemed nice enough, if rather energetic. She bit her lip as she frowned. "I just wanted a quiet day," She grumbled.

"And now you can have one. With a friend," Inari replied before burying her nose in her tail and appeared to promptly fall asleep. Right. The little fox was probably fully aware of everything around her. Taylor tossed a single potato chip at the fox. It bounced off her head without reaction. She frowned and turned her attention back to the TV.

A few minutes later her watching was interrupted as Vicky floated back into the room. "You know," Victoria said thoughtfully as she interposed a can of coke at eye-level between Taylor and the TV, "You'd look good in one of those outfits."

Taylor glanced up at the other girl as she accepted the drink and cracked open the cold can. She sipped it and sighed. "Not a chance. Ignoring the fact they're way too frilly, I don't have the figure." It wasn't like she had a figure at all, as Emma and company were so quick to remind her every single day.

She glanced up at Vicky, who was still floating beside her silently. "What?" She asked, spotting the look of disbelief on the other girl's face.

"You don't- when was the last time you looked in a mirror?" Vicky asked with a tone to her voice Taylor couldn't place.

"This morning?" She replied hesitantly. That was apparently not the correct response judging by the way Vicky's look of disbelief grew rather than shrank. The snickering coming from the furry lump on the footstool supported that belief. "What?"

Emotions warred across Vicky's face for a few moments before a curious expression appeared. "Taylor, did your powers include any physical changes?" She asked.

"Well there are these things," Taylor waved a tail in greeting, "But otherwise, not really? I might have put on a bit of weight though. Nothing fits anymore." She blinked as Vicky put her chips and drink down very deliberately before taking Taylors as well. "Hey, I'm-"

"Coming with me," Vicky pulled her out of the bundle of blankets and pillows she had wrapped herself in and if Taylor hadn't reflexively started to float she would have faceplanted. While not faceplanting was nice, floating came with the issue that she was now much easier to push around.

"What are you doing?" She demanded, crossing her arms as the other girl guided her out of the room.

"Where's the nearest mirror. Big mirror," Vicky asked.

"Erm, the upstairs bathroom I think?" Taylor replied, now very confused as Vicky gently pushed her up the stairs like a rogue balloon. The padding of paws on carpet signalled that Inari was joining this little procession.

"Here?" Vicky pointed to the ajar bathroom door, the tiles visible in the opening, as they crested the stairs.

"Yeah. What are you doing though?" Taylor demanded again.

"Making you look in a mirror," Vicky deadpanned.

Feeling fairly offended Taylor reached out and caught the edge of the doorframe. "I looked in a mirror this morning," She scowled, spinning in mid-air to face the other girl. "If you want to insult me just say it." Her tails swirled around her, echoing her mood.

To her surprise and befuddlement, Vicky just stared at her with disbelief. "You-" The blonde looked down at the fox by their feet. "Is she serious?" She asked.

Inari sighed. "She has issues. I've been working on them. Slowly." Taylor scowled at the fox.

"I do not-" Her hand loosed on the doorframe and Vicky lashed out faster than she could track and gave her a fairly solid push the sent her floating back into the bathroom. "HEY!"

"Look!" Vicky pointed at the mirror as she entered the bathroom.

Taylor glanced at the mirror for all of a second before looking back to Victoria. "So? It's me." She almost flinched as Vicky reached out and grabbed her before spinning her to face the mirror.

"Look. Don't glance. Don't dismiss. Look!" Vicky demanded.

Feeling vaguely affronted, and rather nervous if she was being honest, Taylor did as asked. She looked at the mirror. Moreover, she looked at the girl in the mirror. The last time she had done so for more than just absently combing her hair was when she had first woken up a bit over a week ago. The girl back then had looked nearly identical to the her that had stared back at her for most of her life, if a bit fluffier.

The girl who looked back now was not that girl.

The girl in the mirror still had a forehead that seemed a little too big, and a smile that was just a smidgen too wide. That was where the similarities ended. Where Taylor Hebert of last week had more in common with a two by four than a girl, this Taylor Hebert looked like a girl. It was certainly an understatement. She- Taylor looked down at herself then back up at the mirror.

"I-" The girl in the mirror turned with her as she traced the body of the girl in the mirror. She looked like a model. She had hips. She had chest rather than a plank. She looked… "Is that really me?" She asked the room. Vicky leaned over and pulled her into a hug.

"Not used to looking beautiful I take it?" The blonde asked. She shook her head.

"No, I-" She turned her head and watched the girl in the mirror follow. "I look pretty." She almost couldn't believe the words as they left her mouth.

"I did try and tell you," Inari said as she hopped up onto the countertop. "Fertility Goddess." The only reason Taylor didn't smack the fox with a tail, for the sheer amount of smug she could feel coming off the vulpine, was because she was having a hard time taking her eyes off her own reflection long enough to register what was being said.

"Your fox is weird," Vicky said, getting a nod from Taylor. "See what I mean now when I said you could pull off one of those outfits?"

Unbidden Taylor pictured herself in one of those frilly outfits. A scowl and a blush appeared simultaneously. "Nope. Too frilly," She said, "And way too much skin." And now she had the figure to make that skin mean something.

Vicky snickered. "Oh, I don't know. I think I'd like to try one on at least once," She grinned. Taylor just shrugged as she continued to preen at her reflection. "Okay, enough vanity," Vicky declared after a few more moments. She grabbed Taylor and steered her away from the mirror.

"Hey!" Taylor protested.

"TV, snacks, and being lazy await," The blonde declared, "You can primp in front of the mirror later."

"I do not primp," She pouted as she let herself be floated back out of the room. A small silly smile quickly replaced it. She was pretty.

"I know primping. That was primping. We are going to go and do snacking now," Vicky said.

Taylor was still grinning like a maniac when she wrapped herself back up in a blanket. She was pretty. She giggled as she tried to take a sip of coke and pointedly ignored the amused expressions being exchanged by Vicky and Inari. Who cared if she was losing it a little. She was pretty. It was several hours before she could stop smiling, and she was still in a good mood when Vicky took off for the night after a nice relaxing day watching TV and eating snacks.

"You know," She said to Inari that night as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, "She's a bit pushy, but I like her."

"You mean Victoria?" Inari asked.

"Mhmm," Taylor nodded, leaning forward to look at her forehead. She couldn't see a single blackhead anyway. Her skin was practically flawless as far as she could tell. The longer she looked the more she could understand Vicky's disbelief that morning.

"I told you that you needed a friend," Inari sang smugly, getting an indulgent eye-roll from Taylor. She patted the white fox on the head and stretched, her eyes locked on her reflection.

"I think I'm going to need better clothes than these," She said after a long moment.

"I don't know. These certainly look good on you," Inari smirked.

Taylor adjusted her tank top. "That's the problem," She sighed. Despite herself, she smiled. In a way, it was nice to have 'pretty girl' issues.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The next day was not as relaxing as the day before. As far as things went it did not start as early as the two days of testing. It started at the reasonable time of nine am when the PRT escort arrived to take them to the PRT Headquarters. Taylor, her dad, and Inari were bundled up into the back seat of a blue SUV.

"Sooo, what are we dealing with today?" Taylor asked her dad as their vehicle pulled out of the driveway. "You didn't answer me when you were making breakfast."

"Hmm, oh," Her dad looked up from the folder he had open in the briefcase in his lap. "A few things. Assuming all goes well it though, we should be signing the wards contract today."

She stared at him. "And you didn't think to tell me yesterday?" She asked, rather annoyed.

"He did. You just nodded and giggled a bit," Inari said from her lap. Taylor flushed. She had been a bit giddy the day before.

"Still shoulda told me sooner," She muttered. Her dad chuckled and patted her on the head. She sighed. "So, assuming all goes well, I'll be a Ward after today?"

"Assuming so, yes," He nodded. "The last big thing will be going over your costume. We've already got the rest of this nonsense squared away. Carol has been a lot of help making sense of this mess quickly. She's had plenty of experience with Wards contracts in the past and it shows. And it looks like you've made friends with her daughter."

Taylor nodded. "Vicky's a bit pushy, but she's fun to hang out with," She admitted, toying with a lock of hair. The conversation drifted away from serious topics onto more mundane ones. Finally, after a wandering conversation that had included the weather on four separate occasions, the SUV pulled up to the back gate of the PRT Headquarters and was let inside the compound moments later. The vehicle drove through the parking lot then turned down a ramp into the parkade after passing through another checkpoint.

The SUV pulled up to an underground drop off where Battery was waiting as they got out. The heroine's eyes looked Taylor up and down as she walked over. "I'd heard you were having a growth spurt," She said with a shake of her head, "But I didn't quite realize what they meant."

Taylor blushed. "Neither did I?" She offered awkwardly. It was a little embarrassing that she had to literally get shoved in front of a mirror before she noticed.

Battery chuckled. "Well, I'm happy to see you doing well Taylor. Mr. Hebert, it's good to see you again as well." She held out a hand to Taylor's dad.

"It's good to see you again as well Battery," Her dad said, accepting the handshake.

"Let's get the two of you signed in. Brandish is waiting for you upstairs," Battery waved them through the security door into the building. One boring sign in, two snazzy new nametags, and fifteen minutes later they exited the elevator onto the third floor. A gold sign proclaimed 'Third Floor, Image and Wards.'

Battery led them down the blue and green carpeted hallway. They passed cubicles, offices, and several boardrooms with ongoing meetings before reaching a boardroom guarded by a single PRT trooper in full gear. He nodded to Battery as they approached. "Mr. Hebert and his daughter Taylor are here for their meeting," She told him.

The PRT trooper nodded and knocked on the door. A moment later another trooper on the other side opened the door. "Battery with the Heberts," The first trooper said. The second passed it on then fully opened the door a few seconds later and stepped aside. Battery led them inside.

Waiting for the in the room around a large conference table was Ms. Dallon, Glenn Chambers, and another man who Taylor didn't recognize. Glenn was the first to stand as they came in. "Mr. Hebert, Taylor, welcome. I'm glad you came," He said as he stepped around the table to shake her dad's hand. His hair and clothes were as eccentric as ever with him sporting a different tacky tourist shirt with blue and orange butterflies.

"I hope you've finished up with everything we talked about yesterday?" Her dad asked as Ms. Dallon stood up.

"Oh, everything is ready for your daughter to make a decision," Glenn said with a grin.

"Decision?" Taylor asked, glancing down at Inari who shrugged.

"For your uniform of course," Glenn said. He turned to her and looked her up and down. "Hrm… Yes, I think our designs will look excellent on you. We have prepared a few, all approved by your father, for you to choose from. Each one of them is a draft and we can change quite a bit about them. Today we're just trying to nail down a theme and style for you."

Taylor nodded. "We do have a few things to do before then," Mrs. Dallon said as she joined the conversation. "Danny, Taylor." She nodded to both, "How was the ride over?"

"Boring mostly," Taylor said.

"The best ones are. I hope my daughter didn't cause any problems yesterday?" Ms. Dallon asked.

Taylor shook her head. "No problems. It was nice having someone over for once," She admitted. She was still a little giddy, if embarrassed about what Vicky had pointed out.

"That's good to hear. Now, may I introduce the both of you to Deputy-Director Renick of the PRT," Mrs. Dallon gestured to the man who was still seated at the table. He looked to be a bit older than her dad, if a little shorter and with significant amounts of grey streaked through his black hair.

"Mr. Hebert, may I welcome you and your daughter to the Parahuman Response Team, East North-East," The Deputy-Director said, nodding to both of them. "We are a few minutes early, but if you could take your seats we can get this meeting underway."

"Thank you for the welcome," Her dad said as they took their seats beside Ms. Dallon. "If I may, I'd like to thank you for how your people have handled everything so far. They've shown more competence than I've come to expect from the PRT over the years."

If the Deputy-Director was offended he didn't show it. Instead, he simply nodded. "It is difficult to appear competent and capable when your opponents aren't just as good as you in their own way but outnumber you so egregiously. Brockton Bay represents a unique set of challenges within the United States for the PRT. I'm sure you are aware of how many of the most dangerous villains in the country either make, or have made, their home here over the years."

Her dad nodded. "I lived through the days of the March, the Teeth and Allfather's eighty-eight. I know how bad it can get here. That's why we came to the PRT. My daughter's safety comes first and I can't protect her by myself," He said.

"Dad," She ducked her head as he pulled her into a one-armed hug.

"All I can promise is that we will do everything in our power to prepare her for what the world has to offer," Renick said, spreading his arms wide. "She will be as protected as any other Ward in this city can be. Though, based upon her test results I have to say she may be better at taking care of herself than our troopers will be." Taylor blushed and tried to ignore the snickering of the vulpine in her lap.

"So, are the formalities done then?" Glenn asked, looking eager like a ten-year-old on Christmas day.

"Not entirely," Renick said, producing two hefty folders from his briefcase. "Copies of the contract with all the amendments agreed upon yesterday. Please go over them first." Ms. Dallon accepted the copies and handed one over to Danny before opening the other. The next hour was a quiet, and quite boring, discussion between her dad and Ms. Dallon as they went over the details of the contract with speed and attention to detail that only came from extensive familiarity with the subject.

Fifteen minutes in Battery disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a tray of snacks for Taylor and Inari. Glenn was busy texting on his phone like an oversized and overweight teenager. Finally, both her dad and Ms. Dallon nodded and shut the folders.

"Everything looks to be in order, however as agreed upon we'd like to see the potential costumes before signing," Ms. Dallon said.

"Excellent," Glenn exclaimed, sitting up and putting away his phone. "Do you mind if I begin?" He glanced around hopefully.

"I believe they did ask for you to begin," Renick said.

"Then I shall not keep you waiting anymore," The director of Image said with a grin. He hopped out of his chair and walked over to a door at the back of the room. He stepped inside and came out a moment later with a pair of his assistants guiding one of those rolling, flippable whiteboards. The first was covered in notes and the second held one of those circle diagrams used to denote approximate comparisons. This one had twelve separate points marked in pink.

A moment later four mannequins were rolled into the room and placed around the two whiteboards. The uniforms on each were all rather different from one another but ultimately seemed to have a theme of 'elegance and class'. The first on the left was very Japanese in design with a simple blue kimono decorated in patterns of waves. A paper umbrella was placed in its outstretched palms.

The second could only be described as Greek. Or maybe Roman? No, it was Greek. Definitely Greek. The helmet and shield placed at its feet said so. It was a white tunic with a long white cloth and brown leather skirt with decorative studs in the leather. A bronze shield sat at its feet. Intricate ancient greek writing was inscribed along the edges of the belt and the shield. Lightning bolts were being used as pins to hold together the outfit.

The third, on the far side of the whiteboards, was a dress. A two-layer white skirt with blue highlights that was shorter in the front and a white overcoat, also with blue highlights. The shoulder pads of the overcoat puffy and kinda silly looking. An odd pink staff rested against it.

The fourth and final one nearly had Taylor palming her face in exasperation. If it wasn't for the fact that Vicky had been at her place the entire day before she would have wondered if the other girl hadn't been whispering suggestions to Glenn and her dad. It was reminiscent of the anime she had been watching the day before. Though only reminiscent. It was a white and gold top with a skirt.

A white curve-hugging top made from some panels of protective looking material. A red strip of the same material ran down the centre and was bordered by golden lines on either side that came to points beneath the chest. A thin, almost gauzy, white undershirt came out across both hips.

Beneath the gauzy undershirt was the first of three layers of skirting. The outermost layer was a purple ruffle that extended along her hips beneath the undershirt, The next and most obvious layer was a bright red that sparkled gold in the light with a single thin gold line along the bottom. The inner layer was white and scalloped along the bottom. A choker of gold was a part of the top that left the shoulders bare and a purple bow covered its chest. A large gold star placed in the centre of the bow with a small note saying 'placeholder' on it.

On the arms were sleeves that ran from nearly at the shoulder to the wrists, leaving the hands exposed. The sleeves were tight near the top with more gold and red along the hems. The mannequin's legs were clothed in white thigh-high stockings with a gold and red border along the top that dipped to what appeared to be a gold star that had another small note taped to it saying 'placeholder'. The mannequin's small feet were wearing white shoes with a short broad heel. In the mannequin's hair was a single gold band in a smooth V along with a single star-shaped hair ornament on either side.

It was probably the most detailed of the four outfits.

"Um," Taylor frowned, looking from one to the next. "Why?" She asked.

"Glad you asked," Glenn said, stepping over to the whiteboard. "Now a lot of our design has been chosen simply due to your powerset. First, note the lack of a mask. We decided that since you can't hide your identity not having a mask would make you more approachable. As such only the Grecian inspired costume includes one and that one would be in the final version storable. Most likely through tinkertech. Next, we were faced with the fact that armouring you is nearly pointless."

"Why?" Taylor asked as everyone in the room nodded.

"No matter which material we can get our hands on, the quantity required to protect you beyond what your own durability can manage would be prohibitively restricting on your ability to walk or simply function," Glenn said, "Thus, we have limited what protection there is to providing coverage against acid or fire or other similar threats."

"From there, our overall design goals came together. Something that promotes mobility and increases your overall appeal. Something that would stand out. I believe we've managed that with most of these," He said.

"They all look impressive, certainly," Renick nodded.

Taylor frowned at them. "Can I go and take a closer look?" She asked.

"Please, go ahead," Glenn gestured to the mannequins. "This is an important decision."

Taylor stood up and carried Inari with her over to the nearest costume, the kimono. She walked around the japanese-style costume. "Not really me, is it?" She said to Inari.

"Hmm. As much as I'd like to say 'yes it is', you aren't Japanese," Inari said. She nodded. "No, not you at all. It's also the plainest of the four. The pattern they've picked for the kimono is bland and uninspired. Clearly not the one they put the most work into." Off to the side, Taylor heard the sound of money quietly changing hands.

They moved onto the next. "A lot more care in this one. Though, what am I supposed to do with a shield?" Taylor thought aloud.

"Hit someone with it?" Inari suggested.

"Eh," Taylor wiggled a hand. It was an impressive design, but it also came a bit too close to the stereotypical western idea of what a 'god' should wear. That was something she still didn't like. It would probably look really good on her though…

She walked passed Glenn and the whiteboards and moved onto the third costume. "It's… white?" Taylor suggested, frowning at the pink staff leaning against it. One of her ears twitched.

"That it is, hmmm," Inari tapped her paws together in thought.

"I think this one is a hard no," Taylor said after a moment of her own thought. It just didn't do anything for her, and the shoulders were so puffy. Not to mention the skirt. What was with the layering on that? Why cover the back and sides and leave the front exposed? She shook her head. The sound of more grumbling and money changing hands came from the side.

They moved onto the last costume. She prodded the top's panels. They were made from something that felt almost plastic-like. Not cloth, but not quite plastic either. Strange. The sleeves seemed to have an outer layer of the same material. The design spoke of an elegance of both design and function. Though…

"Ever get the feeling someone spent too much time watching cartoons?" Taylor asked Inari.

"I think they call it anime on Aleph," Inari said with a smirk, "It comes from Japan."

"So of course you'd know," Taylor rolled her eyes, but bent down to examine the skirting. The details were very well done. She turned to Glenn. "How much time did you spend on this one?" She asked.

"That one? That one was my design. The rest came from the in-house branding team here," Glenn said.

Oh. She looked it over. This was his work. She glanced over at the other three. The kimono wasn't her. The white dress was just bleh. The only real other contender was the Grecian styled outfit, but that had its own issues. "Why are their placeholders here?" She asked, tapping the gold star on the chest.

"We haven't finalized your symbol yet," Glenn said, "Not with that particular design anyway. The Grecian style is supposed to be lightning bolts I believe. The kimono features waves and the other one is… I'll be honest, I'm not certain." He flipped through some notes on the table. "I don't think I wrote it down anywhere either. Damn."

"Made a decision then Taylor?" Her dad asked. She turned back to the table and the field of expectant faces.

"Can I have a couple more minutes?" She asked.

"Like I said, take your time," Glenn said, gesturing with some of the papers he was now flipping through.

Taylor took Inari and retreated to a corner of the room. "Definitely not the white dress," She said and got a nod in return.

"Definitely not," Inari agreed, "Nor the Kimono I think. Between your nine tails and that you'd start a panic in the asian segment of this city I think."

Taylor frowned. "You think so?" She asked. Inari nodded.

"Oh definitely," She confirmed.

"Huh." The question of why could wait until later, but she really did want to know why. "I'm not too comfortable with the greek god one."

Inari stuck her tongue out. "Most of them were arrogant twits," She said, "Horrible to work with and terrible role models. Though, Poseidon was better than some. Worse than others, but better than some. The nicest one was Hades… hmm…" Her head tilted to the side as the fox descended into thought. She shook it off after a moment. "Anyway, that only leaves the one."

"I could just reject them all," Taylor pointed out.

"Which would take a while to replace, and stall this entire process," Inari pointed out.

Taylor grimaced. "Which would leave me stuck inside until we agreed on something," She sighed. She was getting tired of being inside all day. Especially after her two days of testing.

"So a decision needs to be made now, I think," Inari said and Taylor nodded in agreement. "So why don't you like the last one?"

She sighed. "Vicky is going to be unbearable," She groaned, getting a blinkered gaze, then a snicker from the fox.

"It is rather anime, isn't it? Personally, I like it. It has class," Inari said.

Taylor looked across the room at the fourth costume. It did have class. "It doesn't have a symbol to go with it yet," She added.

"Which you might be able to influence," Inari pointed out.

"Point... "

Inari's tail flicked. "I'm hearing a lot of positives," She pointed out.

"It shows a lot of skin?" Taylor offered, and got a roll of the eyes from Inari.

"You're a Goddess. That is downright prudish in comparison to some of the things I've worn over the years," Inari said, "It shows off your shoulders and maybe a half-inch of thigh when the wind picks up. I mean really." She dissolved into incoherent muttering.

"Well, it's a bit much for me," Taylor deadpanned. It was still the best option though. And… It wasn't that bad really. Vicky wore less and she wore a sundress into battle. A full proper dress. Hmm…

"Mr. Chambers," Taylor said finally.

"Yes?" Glenn looked up from his paperwork, his mohawk that wasn't wobbled precariously.

"For the symbol, would I have any say in that?" She asked, pointing to the fourth costume.

"Uh, yes of course. We run all logos by their respective heroes before finalizing anything. Most often they come to us with preferred designs," Glenn replied.

Taylor nodded. "Then I've made a decision. Number four. As is, I think, though maybe something else other than stars. I mean, I don't really have anything connected to stars so far so…" She shrugged.

Glenn's grin could have split his face in half. "Excellent. Yes, excellent indeed." Behind him his assistants once again exchanged money.

"I think that means we have our last bit of business done with then?" Renick asked, looking about the room as Taylor walked back to her chair.

"That was the last bit of contention, yes," Mrs. Dallon confirmed, reopening the paperwork.

"Then let us set out finalizing things," Renick said as he leaned across the table with a friendly smile. Then things got rather boring, rather quickly.

The next hour and a half was spent with Ms. Dallon going through and ensuring that not only did Taylor and her dad know where to sign, but what they were signing. It was interesting, to a degree, but there was nothing she wasn't already expecting from conversations with her dad. She paused on the last line she needed to sign.

"Um, this might be a little late, but what is my hero name going to be?" She asked sheepishly. Next to her Inari facepalmed.

"Not yet decided," Glenn said, "That'll also be up for debate and consultation over the next couple of weeks."

Taylor glanced to her dad who nodded. She signed the last line. As Ms. Dallon gathered the papers she leaned back into the chair. So, this was it. She was a Ward now. It didn't feel all that different yet.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The scanner buzzed as it worked. It was a low hum that thrummed through the laboratory. To Armsmaster it was, normally, just one of the dozens of tools he kept in his workshop. One of his earlier works it had proven capable of getting readings on anything he brought to it.

The scanner, a ten-foot-long tube of steel filled with technology beyond nearly anything else on the planet, beeped loudly. Its display flashed with the words 'transmitting results'. Armsmaster turned from it to back to his terminal and pulled up the results. He scowled and muttered a curse.

Nothing.

Again.

"You've been at this for sixteen hours Collin," A familiar voice said from the console beside him. "Take a break." Dragon, his friend and frequent collaborator frowned at him from the display with her virtual avatar.

"Not yet. I want to try one more thing," Collin said.

"You've said that ten times," She pointed out, "Set it aside and at least get something to eat."

"I ate recently." Three granola bars and a small tub of yogurt.

"That was seven hours ago Collin." He paused, his fingers frozen over the keyboard. He turned to the clock.

"Oh," He sighed and ran a hand down his face. "I suppose I have lost track of time." He saved his work and leaned back in his chair. He looked across at her avatar. "It's a trident. An iron and gold trident. Sixteen hours of work and all I can tell, is it is a trident made of _iron and gold that shocked everyone who touches it_." He took a deep calming breath.

"I could bring down one of my suits if you think it would help?" Dragon suggested. He waved her off.

"No. I've been meaning to replace this old thing for a while. I suppose I'll simply have to upgrade it," He said.

Dragon nodded and they both fell silent for a few companionable moments. "Collin?"

"Yes?"

"What if you upgrade it and there's still nothing?" She asked.

"There has to be something," He sighed. "But if there is nothing then… Well, then we'll have to accept that it is not tinkertech. More likely it is something that someone with powers made with their power. Possibly something similar to what Dauntless does. Still, I can pick up the energy that Dauntless uses to upgrade his equipment. I'm seeing nothing of the sort from this trident." It was frustrating in the way that only seeing nothing when you knew there had to be something could be. It made you feel like a blind fool chasing ghosts.

"Either way you should get some food and some sleep. You have a patrol in seven hours," Dragon pointed out.

Collin sighed and spared a glance for the trident. Its secrets were eluding him for now, but time would prove him the victor in this contest of wits. His eyes rested on the one part that could be seen through the scanner: the engraved gold crossguard. "There is one thing I would like to know," He said with a frown.

"Collin?"

"Why is the trident inscribed with foxes and lightning bolts? Aren't those the symbols we could associate with our latest Ward? What was her name? The young girl with the foxtails?" He couldn't quite place her name. That alone meant he had probably been up for too long at this point. He wasn't good with people, but he normally had no issues remembering names.

"Taylor Hebert, Collin. What are you getting at?" Dragon sighed. She probably wanted to hustle him off to bed.

"Nothing, just wondering at the similarities," He sighed and turned away from the scanner after powering it down. "I think it's time for some food and sleep. Good night Dragon."

"Good night Collin."

As the door closed behind Collin and the lights in the workshop went out a sharp flickering light still illuminated the room. Little sparks of lightning jumped from the tines of the trident into the machine around it. Again, and again, and again.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A/N: Oh my god I can't believe its finished. *exhausted kitsune curls up on office chair* 58 pages, 22,600 words. I'm finished for now~ Whoooo~ *weakly cheering kitsune*

So a thank you to everyone who loves this story. I'm happy you love it~ I quite enjoy writing Fluffy!Taylor. Though I will admit I am never writing Karaoke again. That was terrible. I spent as much time on that one section as the rest of the chapter. Never. Again.

A big thank you to Gekkou_Yoko for her wonderful assistance again~ My writing would not be as good as it is without her editorial assistance.

If anyone wants to talk about my stories with me you can find a link to my discord in my signature. Please come by~ *hopeful kitsune* *Edit for : My signature can be found on space battles and sufficient velocity*

At the same time, I hav for anyone who wants to help a young writer out~ Right now the money from there is getting set aside for art. I think the next big thing I need to commission is a cover page for this story since its grown a lot bigger than I would have thought. *shell-shocked kitsune* The numbers are staggering. *edit for you can find a link for it in my signature on either sufficient velocity or spacebatttle, search Grounders10 on either site*

Thank you to everyone who has supported me so far. I hope this chapter meets with your approval~

To everyone on on the forums had some issues visualizing the costume Taylor picked. Google Star Guardian Ahri and you'll have the correct idea. Look for her splash art not the fanart.


	8. Chapter 8

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A Worm Fanfic

The Taste of Peaches

By: Grounders10

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8

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Taylor tugged on the skirt she was wearing with a frown. "It's a bit short," She commented as she looked into the mirror. One ear twitched with irritation as she examined the fit of the prototype costume.

It was the day after signing on with the Wards and Taylor and Inari had been brought back into the PRT HQ for a day devoted solely to costume consultation. It had gotten off to a rocky start with the immediate discovery that either someone had written down her measurements wrong, or she'd been growing taller as well. The chest was as tight as expected, though her clothes had finally seemed to stop getting tighter in realtime the day before.

"Which is why we're taking new measurements," The assistant Marcy said absently. "I was sure my measurements were accurate."

"You did lose that measuring tape," Taylor reminded her, earning half-hearted grumbles from the older woman.

"Bicycle shorts fitting properly?" Marcy asked, changing the subject.

"About as tight as the rest," Taylor deadpanned.

"Fair enough. Hmm, okay I think I have everything for the next version. I'll step out and let you get changed into something less conspicuous then," The assistant said before ducking out of the booth and leaving Taylor to herself as the door clicked shut. She slipped the bolt into place absently as she examined her reflection.

The uniform looked good on her. Sure it was a bit tight and the skirt needed to be pulled down an inch or two, but it looked good. She clasped her hands behind back and leaned forward, giving her reflection a nervous smile. She blinked as the beautiful girl in the mirror smiled brilliantly. The changes happening to her hadn't felt weird until Victoria had pointed them out. Now it was all she could do to not notice the way her teeth seemed whiter or how her freckles were disappearing, or how her outfit hugged her new curves.

She stood straight and took a deep breath, shaking her head. "Objective, Taylor. Be objective," She reminded herself aloud. She couldn't let herself get wrapped up in a narcissistic haze again. Not like she had the day before when they got home. When your talking fox needed to pull you out of the bathroom because you spent two hours searching for any sign of imperfections in your reflection, you had issues. Even she could admit that.

It had helped her self-esteem that she had failed to find anything other than the way her smile was still a little too wide.

She reached up for the hidden seams of her uniform and started getting changed. Ten minutes, five of which were spent admiring herself in the mirror, she exited the changing room in another outfit of a tank top, shorts, and jacket. She almost hadn't worn the shorts before, they weren't normally her style. Unfortunately, neither she nor her dad had done laundry recently and that had left her without a clean alternative. They did look good on her.

"Done primping?" Inari asked from a table nearby where a woman was taking measurements of the fox. They had been tight-lipped when it came to Inari, so she had no idea what they were planning for the fox.

"I wasn't primping," Taylor huffed, brushing her hair back over her shoulder.

"Uhuh," Inari drawling, very much unconvinced.

"So, I understand we've got a few modifications to make," Glenn said from where he was examining a whiteboard with a list of words on it. The list of suggested names had been whittled down to a handful with rejected ones like 'Satyrion', 'Faustina', or 'Berrti' crossed off. Others that were still being considered were 'Corentine', 'Felicity', 'Kei', 'Sinopa', or 'Olwen'. There were a few others on the list, but most had been crossed out with a bright red marker.

"It looks pretty good," Taylor admitted, "Just.. a tiny bit short at the moment."

Glenn waved it off. "Easily fixed. Now, you mentioned something about colour?" He asked, turning from the list.

"Why red?" Taylor asked as Marcy ducked back into the changing rooms to retrieve the prototype.

"Red is vibrant. It stands out and draws attention. It works well with black, which you do have a lot of," Glenn said, gesturing to her tails. "Our intention with this design is to make you appear more approachable. A vibrant, colourful appearance helps with that. It's like our approach with Legend, except we are aiming to emphasis your youth and innocence."

Taylor snorted at that. "Supposed or otherwise," Glenn chuckled, "With Legend we aimed to make him the opposite of Alexandria. Open, approachable, kind. It worked, mostly. Not the least because Legend is actually all of those things."

"The opposite of Alexandria?" Taylor questioned, finding a seat at the large conference table that took up the center of the room.

Glenn nodded. "Yes. Alexandria you'll note is very dark. This was a deliberate choice way back to create the appearance of a stern protector. Someone who could scare the criminals. It has had its upsides, and downsides," He sighed, "The downsides would make it difficult, I feel, for you to live a life outside of the Wards when off duty. Of course, much like with Legend a lot of that persona is created by her personality. The costume does a great deal, but what sets the tone of a hero is how they act."

Taylor nibbled on her lip. "It sounds complicated," She said with her own sigh.

"Oh, very complicated. There is a reason most of your time before we unveil you to the world is going to be spent in lessons of one type or another," Glenn said apologetically.

Taylor grimaced but said nothing. She had been informed of them the day before and been subjected to her dad's laughter at her complaints. He had at least treated her to take out from Fugly Bob's as an apology that night. Once he got done chuckling at her expense anyway.

"So, it can't be blue or something else?" Taylor asked, diverting the discussion back.

"It would have to be rather dark, and I'm not sure you could pull off the brighter shades. Hmm…" Glenn scratched his chin. "Yellow wouldn't really suit you. Perhaps a green?" He hummed thoughtfully for a moment. "I'll have them put together a few different colours. If nothing else, I imagine you would enjoy some variety." Taylor shrugged. It didn't matter that much to her, but it would be nice to see something different.

Glenn made a few notes on his tablet. "Right, so… Uniform measurements… check. Name discussion..." He glanced at the board. "We've made progress at least. Logo, yes Logo. Rebbecca where is the folder with the printouts of possible designs?" He called across the room to a middle-aged woman who was tapping away at her laptop.

"In the pile with the name lists," She called back absently.

"Pile with the…" Glenn shuffled the folders in front of him, mixing up whatever system might have existed for the precariously balanced stacks of paperwork. "Ah, there we go." He pulled out a yellow folder and opened it. "Here. Take a look at these." He carried the folder over to her.

She laid it down on the table and opened it. A plain gold fox head with pink gems for eyes looked back up at her. She frowned and flipped the page. The next page was, in Taylor's expert opinion, far worse. A giant pink heart that glittered even on the page covered nearly the entirety of the 8 ½ by 11 page.

"Really?" She deadpanned, looked up at Glenn. "Not happening," She said firmly.

"I'll admit, not all of them are good ideas," He allowed.

'Not all' apparently meant 'nearly all', Taylor found. Page after page was quietly slid out of the folder and into a discard pile. Pink hearts, whirlpools, stormclouds, and even a fairly well done if it wasn't for the bright pink and yellow colouring of it flower. Taylor did have to wonder why they had looked at her and thought 'she needs a flower'.

The pile that hadn't made her immediately toss them out was much smaller. It was, in fact, three pages thick. The first was a circular blue gem with a very stylized sailing ship made of gold in the centre. "How big would this be again?" Taylor asked.

"About, this big," Glenn held his hands out in a circle. Taylor mimicked him and placed her hands over her chest. She grimaced.

"It's a little bit… big," She complained, sliding the page towards the discard pile.

"We could go smaller, but if the gem is to hold the actual symbol it needs to be large enough for it to be visible," Glenn said apologetically.

Taylor nodded. "As opposed to being the symbol?" She asked.

"Precisely," He nodded.

"Hmm…" She frowned at the next one. "Is it just me, or did is there a focus on gems?" She asked as she re-examined the picture of yet another gem based design. This one was smaller than the first with a pink star mounted in silver.

"Nearly a third of the suggestions I've received have involved gemstones in some way," Glenn admitted. "I suspect the influence of several popular shows recently imported from Aleph. I, personally, try to avoid using current media as an inspiration. Too many legal hoops to jump through when someone thinks their work has been plagiarized."

"Personally, hmm?" Taylor raised an eyebrow, glancing over to where another mock-up of her uniform stood on a mannequin in the corner.

"... There were other influences as well," Glenn defended after an awkward few moments passed. Like a certain fox, Taylor was willing to bet.

"It looks nice, just…" Taylor frowned a moment and drummed her fingers on the table. "You're making a big deal out of being approachable," She observed. "The lighter colours… red rather than something thematic to the sea or storms like blue." She pulled out the last page of concept art. Nine silver tails were set up as a pinwheel with a gold star set over the center. "And all the ideas are colourful and as well…" She trailed off. An ear twitched as she thought.

"Yes?" Glenn prodded, and odd tone of anticipation to his voice that she almost missed.

Both her ears twitched and she turned to the middle-aged man. "Even if I hadn't picked this one, the others could have worked for a similar style," She continued absently, "That one with the stupid skirting and pink staff would have been close enough I guess. The greek one screams 'hero' just by the styling, and the kimono… A bit dark, but you would have played up the elegance instead…"

"All correct," Glenn admitted.

She stared at him. "Then there's that karaoke they had me sing," She frowned at him. "That's not normal testing, is it?"

"Not at all."

"You have a plan for me," Taylor said pointedly, "What is it?"

Glenn grimaced. "So close," He sighed, "I had hoped you'd put it together entirely without asking. Still, good deductions. Yes, I do have a plan. I've had one germinating away since Battery brought back the first pictures of you. First, before I confess my dastardly scheme of heroicness, thoughts on the proposals?"

She blinked at him. "Dastardly scheme of heroicness?" She repeated. Was he serious?

"Thoughts?" He repeated. Oh god, he was…

She sighed. "Don't like them. Any of them," She grimaced and held up the second of the last three. "Why is there a child's drawing of a boat on a bright pink gemstone? In gold no less? Why did this even get here?"

"Because we're running at full speed and I haven't had time to do my normal due diligence," Glenn admitted with a shrug, "So this entire batch is a failure I take it?" She nodded. "Damn," He sighed, "Well we'll have to get back to it tomorrow then. I'll see what the artists can come up with by the morning. Now, my dastardly scheme."

Taylor half-expected to hear him declare '™' after it. After a moment of silence, she realized he was waiting for her. "Go on?" She prodded, both annoyed and curious.

Glenn tapped something on his tablet. "From the moment Battery brought back the first pictures of you I wanted you in the Wards," He said as he sorted through his tablet. "It was my recommendation that you be given as generous a contract as we could convince the treasury to divulge." He paused and held out the tablet to her. "Tell me what you see," He instructed.

"That's me the day I woke up after the locker," Taylor said. She recognized the picture of her sitting on the couch. The girl was recognizably the her from the first few days after the incident. She had yet to grow at all, though her skin already looked much nicer than it had in the weeks and months before.

"Take a step back, then look again," Glenn said.

She raised an eyebrow. "That's the second time someone has told me to take a better look at myself in three days," She remarked, earning a chuckle from Glenn.

"I see a young girl. A girl like any other who lives in this country, in this state even," Glenn said, turning the tablet back to himself. "She clearly has powers, but she looks so vulnerable. I can feel something for this girl. I can see the emotions on her face and it makes me feel them in here," He tapped a hand to his chest.

He turned off the tablet and set it down on the table. "Taylor, the PRT is entering a crisis. Truthfully, we've been on the edge of it for years. Heroes wear masks. The PRT troopers wear masks. The villains wear masks. Everyone who matters in the eyes of the public wears a mask. And masks are very good at hiding things. It's why people wear them after all. Heroes wear masks to protect themselves and their loved ones. PRT troopers wear them for simple protection from the myriad of parahuman powers they might encounter. The villains, well it would be so much easier to find a villain if he didn't wear a mask now wouldn't it?"

"I suppose so, but what does this have to do with me?" Taylor asked. Masks were everywhere. They were practically ubiquitous with cape culture.

"Because you cannot wear a mask. I could certainly put you in a domino mask, or a helmet, or anyone of numerous designs, but would any of them actually protect your identity, Taylor?" Glenn asked. She shook her head.

"Exactly. You cannot hide, so why bother trying? Is that not why you're here? To not have to hide?" He continued before she could reply, "Masks hide a lot. Above everything else, they hide emotion. You can't see how a PRT trooper reacts when he finds someone bleeding out. You can't see their expression when they're hosing someone down with containment foam, or holding a cordon, or any of their numerous jobs. You can't see the faces of the protectorate heroes most of the time. Some wear visors, sure, but even those obscure the eyes. Even Legend wears a domino mask. Those are designed to conceal the telltale marks around the eyes. Have you ever wondered why Legend is so actively over the top with some of his gestures? Why he smiles so wide?"

She shook her head. "No, but…"

"But?" Glenn prompted.

Taylor hesitated. "Is it to make his emotions more obvious? To make up for the effect of the mask?" She asked.

Glenn nodded and smiled. "Yes, exactly. Exactly. Did you know that in the last five years the top three most popular heroes on the eastern seaboard have consistently been Legend, Mouse Protector, and Miss Militia?"

"I do pay attention," Taylor said defensively. She had always been into capes. Alexandria had been an inspiration, but she did have a poster of Miss Militia in a case beside her bed.

Glenn held up his hands placatingly. "Then it shouldn't surprise you that all three of these heroes are often viewed as the most emotional and empathic, even when dealing with people who have never seen them in person. There are others who come close. Chevalier from Philadelphia is ranked at number six, but he takes advantage of the modern conception of a chivalric knight. He plays up the honour and humility in public to help overcome his inability to show physical expression. Not to say that he isn't honourable and humble, but like many of the more popular heroes, he acts up how he truly feels."

The head of image reached over and retrieved a bottle of water from a nearby catering cart. He popped the top and took a sip, sighing before continuing. "I want to say this is how most of our heroes act. It's not. They are the exception rather than the rule. Tell me, have you heard of the issues Armsmaster has when dealing with the public?"

Taylor shook her head. "No?"

He nodded. "Armsmaster is Tinker. A very good Tinker, but he is very professional to the point of rudeness when interrupted during the course of his work. He is certainly on the further end of the spectrum opposite Legend, but there are much worse than him. Most are closer to him than they are Legend and the result has been a steady decline in public trust. Six months ago a poll placed overall public trust for the PRT in the entire United States at a record low of forty-one. Now, this is not a consistent number across the continent. Places like New York, or Philadelphia, or even Los Angeles are all very positive towards the PRT. Places like Houston or Las Vegas or Brockton Bay are much, much lower."

"Isn't Houston where Eidolon is?" Taylor asked with a frown.

"Yes. That is part of the problem," Glenn sighed but didn't elaborate. Taylor decided not to ask. Some things weren't that important, but she did have to wonder how having the most powerful Hero in the world around would make things worse.

"Now, this all comes back to you because I want to change this slide. Public trust is at an all-time low because people look at the PRT and they don't see heroes in many places. They see enforcers. They see thugs. They see people who aren't all that different from the gangs. When both the Villains and the Heroes hide from the world, who do you trust? I want them to trust the heroes. We can't protect people if they won't let us help them."

Glenn leaned against the table. It creaked under the weight and tilted to one side ever so slightly. Taylor slid the printouts of all the logo ideas back into their folder. "I need a face I can show the world that they'll trust. I can't show a Case 53. They don't even have civilian lives most of the time. Good people, but the world won't trust them. That's where you come in. You can't wear a mask. The world will know who you are no matter what."

"Which puts me in the crosshairs of so many people. That's why I'm here. For protection," Taylor pointed out.

He nodded. "And you will be. We've been authorized an increased budget specifically to add more security for you. You didn't hear this from me, but a ten percent increase in personnel has been signed off on by Director Costa-Brown because of your signing on. Just counting troopers, that's another fifty people."

Taylor blinked. "What? Why?" She asked.

"Because your face is going to be on the national news the moment you get announced," Glenn sighed. "Not because of anything you or I am going to do, but because you are going to be the first Ward to not wear a mask. Sure others haven't been able to conceal themselves, but you will be the first to not even wear a symbolic mask. It'll make headlines. The increase in personnel is for your safety."

Taylor leaned back in her chair, her ears flat across her head. National news? Just for signing up with the Wards? That was… A lot more attention than she wanted. She bit her lip. Maybe she could back out. Staying in her basement for a few years wouldn't be that bad. A bit dark, maybe a bit damp. She'd need to move the boxes out. Who knew what was in half the boxes down there. Probably nothing but trash in most of them. God knew it needed a cleanup.

Except she had already signed the papers.

"Taylor." She looked up at Glenn who had a gentle smile as he looked down at her. "You're worried, right?"

She nodded. "A bit," She admitted quietly.

"Not unusual. It's so very nerve-wracking. I've seen it so many times, but once it's over with things are… just as they were most of the time. Now, yours is going to be bigger, and things won't just settle right down to how they were before you triggered. I could tell you they would, but I won't lie," He said, taking a sip of his water. "And it is only the beginning. Now, we could, if you want, back things down. I could simply launch you as a normal Ward and then be on my way, but I think you can be more than that. You have a beautiful singing voice you know."

She blinked at the change in subject, then blushed lightly. "No, I'm not. My singing is terrible," She groaned.

"Well, I'm not just saying that," Glenn smiled, "I showed the tape we made of your karaoke session to a friend. He works in the music business. He looked at me and he said, 'Glenn, I don't know where you get your luck, but the devil himself is jealous of you.' 'Really?' I replied and he just nodded. 'Yes. She's amazing. Rough around the edges of course. You said she had no training, yes?' 'None at all' I said. 'Give me six months and you would swear the angels were singing.' And I am not lying. I have the tape here somewhere."

By that point, Taylor's mouth was going up and down while a blush worked its way down her neck. She was practically fluorescent. "I- Who was this?" She asked eventually, drawing him away from his tablet where he was searching for something, presumably the tape.

"You wouldn't know him. Probably. He's done scouting for music talent for years. If he thinks you have talent, well. Who am I to gainsay an expert?" He chuckled, "You are of course a Ward, but I was thinking that perhaps I could arrange for some singing lessons."

"I-" Taylor hesitated. Singing? Music? She felt a bit lightheaded at the idea of being considered that good at something. But there was something else bothering her. "Y-your plan can't simply revolve around a singing Ward. I mean, a singing Ward is a Singing Ward. I'm not Alexandria or someone like…. That… why are you shaking your head?"

Glenn sighed. "You are that level. You have that potential. I know you haven't seen your powers report. It's not finished yet, but I've seen the highlights. The one thing I found interesting is how your powers grow. As you use them they get more powerful and more potent. You aren't Alexandria. You aren't Eidolon, or Legend either. But one day you might be. The fact is in one to two weeks your face is going to be on every television in America. I think you have the potential to be more than a five-minute clip on a TV news program. I know you do. I think, if you do this right, twenty years from now my Granddaughter is going to be looking up to you the same way you look up to Alexandria or Miss Militia."

Taylor stared up at Glenn from her chair. Her ears were low, her tails had stopped moving as she just stared at him. "I-" She closed her mouth, biting her lip as she thought. She just wanted to be able to get out and about again. To go for a walk without worrying about the ABB deciding she was the perfect target to kidnap. That's all she wanted. It had been so simple. Sign up with the Wards, get protection, continue living her life.

In hindsight, it was silly levels of naive. Life, as she had already learned, never worked out that well. Of course, people would notice her. Of course, she would have the attention of thousands. She was going to be part of the government's own branded club of teenage heroes. Action, excitement, and adventure awaited, even if that adventure was wandering around a mall having photos taken with small children.

"Can I think about it?" Taylor asked, "it's just-" She paused as he held up a hand.

"It's a lot to take in. I know. I have a few different ways of handling everything based on your preferences, but for now, I think you need some time to think," He glanced down at the table and the stacks of folders. "And my people need some time with the drawing board again. Why don't we call it here today? I'll see about someone to escort you home, and you can think it over. Talk with your dad. We can continue tomorrow."

"Does my dad know about… this plan of yours?" Taylor asked.

Glenn nodded. "It was discussed. A lot of the specifics are still up in the air, but we did discuss the consequences of having a Ward without a mask."

"I… I'd like to go home for now," Taylor said finally.

"Of course. Marcy, please arrange for an escort for Ms. Hebert. She wishes to head home for the day. We're more than finished for now," Glenn called across the room. Taylor nodded her thanks, then looked down at a tap on her shin. Inari was looking up at her with a worried expression. She picked the fox up and sat there, petting her until their escort came. Her thoughts were a whirl, chasing each other around in eddies and tying themselves up in knots.

Inari said nothing until they were out of the building and in an unmarked blue SUV on the way home. "Taylor," She said.

"Yeah?"

"I'm here. If you wish to talk," The former goddess said softly.

Taylor's lips quirked into a smile. "Thanks, but I just need to think."

"You can always think at me if you want."

Taylor rolled her eyes and snickered. "Where do you get these lines?"

"Cereal boxes," Inari cheerfully confirmed, grinning like only a fox could as Taylor broke down into a fit of giggles. There was a hysterical tone to the giggling, but whether Inari noticed Taylor couldn't say. Either way, it was nice to not be completely alone with her thoughts anymore.

-0-0-0-0-0-

As the door closed on Taylor's back one of his assistants shook her head. "That was a bit intense, boss," She said, "Are you trying to drive her off?"

Glenn chuckled as he set about reorganizing the paperwork strewn across the table. "Hardly," He said, "You saw how she reacted to the idea of there being a 'plan' for her? One she didn't know about."

"She was getting rather bristly," Marcy observed as she held a swatch of green fabric up to the light.

His other assistant sighed. "She's a teenager. They get like that. You have to be careful around them."

"Denise, with respect, you're reading her wrong," Glenn chided. He leaned against the table as he looked over to them. He played the moment Ms. Hebert had 'called him out' over again in his head and chuckled. "Ms. Hebert likes to think she's out of her depth, but there's hidden steel in her spine. No hesitation when she thought I was trying to play her. She'll do well, if she can learn to direct it the right way."

"You still came on too strong. She's nervous and you just dumped her into the deep end," Denise huffed, crossing her arms.

"She wouldn't have accepted anything less. She's not Vista. Making her feel important without telling her everything will just backfire on us," Glenn said with a shake of his head. He pulled out the folder with the printouts of the logo concept art and held it out to Denise. "Take this down to the artists. Tell them to try again. I need at least a dozen ideas by tomorrow morning."

She took it with a sigh. "Anything else?" She asked, "Coffee perhaps?"

"There's a staff room on the way. Bring back a cup for me please," Glenn ordered, taking advantage of the sarcastic response. He hid a smirk at the way her expression dropped.

"Oh, oh one for me too," Marcy added cheerfully, "Two sugar two cream, please."

"I'll bring it back. Black for you, boss?" Denise sighed.

"Please," He nodded. He watched as she hurried from the room. He shook his head and chuckled as the door clicked shut. "Her heart is in the right place, but some people respond better to honesty than being circumspect."

"If you say so," Marcy sighed, "Hey, uuuh does this shade of green look about right?" She waved the swatch of fabric at him.

"Let me see," He said, leaving his paperwork to take a closer look. This job just never ended.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The bowl of popcorn bounced as Taylor flopped onto the couch. A few white kernels rolled away across the carpet where they were promptly set upon by Inari. Taylor rolled her eyes at the loud crunching that followed as Inari stuck her head under the armchair in pursuit of several kernels.

"This- oh another one- is so good," Inari declared between bites.

"I could make you some if you wanted," Taylor suggested as she settled into place. She tossed a few buttered kernels into her mouth. It was so good she sighed happily and laid down on the couch properly, the bowl held in one arm as she wrapped her lower body in her tails. She dug the remote out from between the couch cushions.

Inari glanced over at her. "So you say while already settling in," The spirit deadpanned.

"Is that a no I hear?" Taylor munched on a handful of popcorn loudly.

"Nooo, it's a yes please," Inari said, sitting up and looking hopeful. Taylor snorted and set the bowl and the remote down on the end table.

"Get the TV turned on and find something to watch," She said as she left. Five minutes later she set a bowl as large as her own down beside Inari and settled herself back down on the couch. The TV was already running as she fluffed the throw pillow and set it beneath her head. "Isn't that the same show I was watching when Vicky came by?" She asked the fox after a moment of watching a pink heart blast yet another weird monster.

Inari looked up with a mouthful of popcorn and nodded once before returning to her buttery feast. Taylor, meanwhile, watched the show for a few moments. "I think their skirts are shorter than mine were today," She observed as she ate.

Inari turned to look and shrugged after a moment. She swallowed. "I've seen gods wear less… Hell, I wore less at times," She said before returning to her food.

Taylor snorted. "Leaves are not sufficient dress," She snarked. Honestly, if even half of what showed up on pottery was remotely true then the old gods got up to some really weird stuff.

"If, by some miracle, you do not wind up wearing at least one dress made of leaves in the next decade I will…" Inari trailed off with a vague humming sound of thought. Taylor rolled her eyes and munched on more of the popcorn as the TV went to a commercial break. She sighed and burrowed into the throw pillow. After the morning she had had a bowl of popcorn and cartoons were great.

"I can't believe he wants me to sing," Taylor sighed as an ad for Lego played. Something about 'making your own heroes' or something.

"Hrm? Erm!" Inari swallowed, "You're quite good for a Goddess your age you know. I wonder if you have song or music as one of your domains…" The fox pondered aloud.

"... Goddess huh?" Taylor muttered. It came down to that again. The next show came on the TV. It seemed the channel was doing a back to back special of that show. Joy. Still, it wasn't that bad, even if the speeches the main character insisted on doing were really annoying most of the time. Doing that in Brockton Bay would probably see you skewered by one of the villains.

And she had basically agreed to wear a more modest version of those clothes. She nibbled on some popcorn. It was easy to say that life was not going how she had expected it this time the year before. Back before she had run off to summer camp, when Emma had still been her friend. She scowled and pushed that thought aside.

Things were strange, there was no denying that, but they were hopefully going to get better. The Wards were nice. Aegis was cute, well what she could see anyway. Clockblocker was a bit annoying, but everyone else was quite welcoming. Assuming they weren't all hiding dark secrets things were looking better than they had for the last year. Assuming Arcadia agreed, and it sounded like they would, she wouldn't even have to deal with Winslow ever again. Soon she would be to go outside again without worrying. Hell, maybe Vicky would want to celebrate by going shopping. As much as she was ambivalent towards the activity just doing it with a friend would be wonderful. It seemed that all things were going according to plan.

The only hitch was the plans of Glenn Chambers.

Taylor's tails twitched and she shifted to get a better grip on the bowl as she continued eating the popcorn. Glenn was the weirdest person she had ever seen. The man couldn't seem to dress himself, and yet he was somehow the man in charge of the appearance and PR of the entire PRT. Even more mindboggling was the fact that he seemed to actually be good at it. Which came around to his plans for her.

He wanted her, her, to be the next great hero. Someone who people would look at as the next Alexandria, or Eidolon, or Legend. Someone who would fight the battle against the villains and bring safety to people. Somehow. Her. She had to wonder if he was actually drunk.

Sure, she was pretty, even she could see that now, but it took more than a pretty face to protect people. She was an untrained, untested, unknown who could maybe sing and had a talking fox that so far had only managed to be cute and irritatingly proclaim her divinity. On the TV, the heroine's talking cat heroically threw itself at the monster of the week. Taylor watched with mild amusement as the beast flailed about in a panic over a small cat hanging onto its face.

Taylor sighed and buried her face in the throw pillow. She wasn't being quite fair to Inari. Sure she could be annoying at times, but most of the time was like this or like the times when she was training her powers. She wouldn't be even half as far along as she was if she hadn't had the small white fox offering helpful advice about her powers. There was still the issue with the constant proclamations of divinity.

She shifted back onto her side and nibbled the much-depleted bowl of popcorn with a frown. She didn't want the spotlight Glenn wanted to throw her into. There had been a lot of heroes over the years who had, very publically, crashed and burned under the scrutiny. She didn't want to be the next one. Her dad had, if Glenn was being honest, agreed to at least a large portion of the plan beforehand. She had to wonder why. She was going to have to deal with more than just the attention of Brockton bay and its jaded population. Assuming she agreed to it.

The bowl of popcorn ran empty and she set it down on the floor with a sigh. She paused to stare at Inari who was licking her own bowl clean. Taylor nudged her bowl towards Inari who looked up and dragged the empty bowl over to her spot to lick clean. Taylor rolled her eyes and lay back.

She had signed on with the Wards, there was no going back on that. She was going to have to get dressed up, go out on patrols and PR events, and occasionally fight homicidal madmen who were fighting over the city… Hopefully, that was going to be a long time coming. At the moment she was limited to smacking them with water and hoping for the best. That didn't mean she had agreed to be in the middle of a very deliberate three-ring media circus.

Still… Glenn had made a good point. A lot of people didn't trust the PRT, and a good portion of that was the masks. People just didn't trust those who hid their faces all the time. She doubted she could do much to change that perspective, but… She hugged a throw pillow and curled up tighter, her tails wrapping up to her stomach in fluffy warmth.

"What do I do…" She mumbled aloud. She wasn't an ordinary cape. She didn't have just one power of questionable use. She could command the storm and sea, take a hit better than Glory Girl, and that was only the beginnings of her powers. There was so much she hadn't even touched.

In theory. A theory that relied on her talking fox not being crazy and the idea that she hadn't hallucinated her entire trip up that mountain. Or the battlefield. Or the fortress. Or the peach. There had been quite a bit that was just a bit out there for her, especially since she woke up back in her bed.

A Hero she could handle being. A popular one… Well, she always did want to be like Alexandria, though it would be really annoying being that popular. She would still be a Hero though. Someone who helped people.

A Goddess? What did it mean to be a Goddess? That was a good question… She glanced up from the pillow she had been staring into for the last few minutes. On the TV the credits for the show started playing. Inari was looking up at her from the two freshly licked clean bowls.

"Is something bothering you?" Inari asked.

"A few things," Taylor admitted.

Inari ambled over and planted herself on the floor by Taylor's head. "Is this about what Glenn was asking of you?" She asked.

Taylor shrugged. "Some of it. I'm… I'm just thinking about the media circus this is going to cause," She groaned.

Inari made a noise of understanding. "I know the feeling. Being a big name Goddess could bring in so much attention," She patted Taylor on her arm with a paw. "I know you can handle it if you try."

"Maybe… I didn't sign on for the fame," She mumbled.

"A lot of those who want fame aren't suited to it," Inari said, "A Goddess, however-"

"Then there's that," Taylor cut off the fox, who blinked in surprise.

"That?" Inari questioned, sounding confused.

Taylor pushed herself up on her elbow and leaned over the edge of the couch. "Goddess. You keep. Calling. Me. A Goddess. In public!" She wasn't quite snarling as she said it, but the days of irritation had built up. "I'm sure the only person in the PRT who doesn't think I have a screw loose somewhere is Mr. Chambers!" Inari's ears wilted.

"I don't think they-" Inari began.

"What happens if I agree to this plan of Mr. Chambers' and you start saying things like that in public? You're the one who said I'd probably be called crazy!" Taylor frowned down at the white fox who seemed to shrink into herself. Her tail wrapped about her paws, her head lowered and her ears flat. "And don't think being cute gets you out of this. You've been driving me nuts all week!"

"Sorry," Inari said quietly.

Taylor grumbled from within her wrap of tails. "Well, everything, even Vicky and the Wards probably think I'm a bit nutty. Everyone thinks you're part of my subconscious… and who knows, they might be right."

Inari looked up. "I'm not your imagination," She snapped.

"But you might be my power," Taylor snapped back. "We've had this discussion before." She sighed.

Inari huffed, but nodded. "I know… A Goddess who doesn't believe in herself… I have been doing a terrible job," The white fox said, burying her snout in her tail and shaking her head.

"... Not that bad…" Taylor mumbled, suddenly feeling a touch guilty as Inari stared at the gap under the couch.

"... No, I've messed up," Inari said firmly, looking up at her. "You've had your doubts since day one. I should have done my best to allay them. I decided to leave part of myself as your guide. I haven't done as much guiding as I should have. We talked about opening the way to the Celestial Realm once before. Do you still wish to do so?" Inari asked.

"Is that what that place is called?" Taylor asked. Inari nodded. "Then yeah. I want to feel it, touch it. Maybe even hold it. I need something that says 'I didn't dream this'." She ran a calming hand through her tails. Was she a Goddess? Going to the Celestial Realm wouldn't tell her that for sure, but at least it would tell her she wasn't crazy.

"Shall we get started now? Or do you want to watch the next episode?" Inari pointed a paw at the TV which was starting… yet another episode of that show.

"Does that channel run anything else?" Taylor wondered.

"I changed the channel," Inari said, "So? Work or play?" She shot a grin up at Taylor who sighed.

"Just one more episode," Taylor sighed, laying back down to watch the show. It was silly, childish, and rather much like watching her own trainwreck of a future, but she didn't mind. It was something other than straining her brain trying to break reality in some way or another.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The next day the sun rose on Monday the 12th of July to find Taylor and Inari already awake and working. When Taylor's dad had returned from work she had asked him to place a phone call and see if she could have 'a couple of days to think about what Glenn said.' The PRT had been surprisingly willing to grant her the time to think. More importantly, it gave them two uninterrupted days to try and figure out how to open a path to the Celestial Realm.

"I doubt we'll manage much of anything in two days," Inari had said with a shake of her head. "You've already done it once, but unconscious creation of portals happens to all gods at some point. The Celestial Realm is the native territory of the Gods. They all make their way there eventually. Finding a way out is usually the issue."

Still, that hadn't stopped Taylor from trying. That night, after she had explained to her dad what they were doing, was spent reviewing what Inari had first attempted to teach her on their first day of experimentation. That had ended with salt-water soaking the living room. This time Taylor paid much more attention to the theory, taking notes as they went. They were about to attempt to open a hole in reality. She really didn't want to drop her entire house through a portal or something else equally dangerous.

The next morning Inari had brought her into the living room and sat down on the footstool that had become her preferred place to curl up during the day. "Do you have your notes?" She asked.

Taylor nodded and held up the small notebook she had used.

"Good. Now put it over there," Inari pointed to the table. "We don't want you to accidentally damage it."

"Is that a risk? 'Cause if it is…" Taylor trailed off as Inari shrugged.

"We are dealing with divine powers. Quite technically anything is possible," Inari admitted, "However, you are more likely to hurt yourself than the surroundings." Taylor winced as she set the book down on the side table. Inari nodded firmly. "Good. Now, we are dealing with something very different from your domains. Today we step outside the realms of instinct and move towards the more deliberate invocations of the divine. Not true spellcraft, but powers which require a very deliberate effort to explore and master."

"And I haven't been putting effort in so far?" Taylor asked.

"Oh don't get me wrong, you have," Inari said, shaking her head. "But because we've been dealing with your domains exclusively thus far the effort for reward ratio has been incredibly high. If I were to try and teach say a god of wind how to manipulate water they could learn to do it, but the time it would take could be measured in months or years rather than days or weeks."

That was a very substantial difference. "Domains are that important?" Taylor asked.

"For a young god? Oh yes, very much so," Inari confirmed, "Most gods don't manage much outside of physical feats and their domains for years. Decades for most. Now, opening a portal is a net neutral skill for most Gods. Making portals between the lands of their followers and the Celestial Realm is a skill that falls under no domain. Unless you happen to be the god of Portals."

Inari flicked her tail and yawned before continuing. "S-sooo, first, quiz time. What is Universal Resonance?" She asked. When Taylor reached for the notebook Inari shook her head. "No book. Off the top of your head. If you can't answer we're going back to theory."

Taylor frowned. "Universal Resonance is… The…"

"Yes?"

"Unique Thaumic Vibration of a particular universe created… by the naturally occurring instabilities in reality," Taylor answered slowly, trying to remember the concept as it had been explained the night before.

"Correct," Inari nodded, "Now what we are going to do today relates directly to Universal Resonance. More specifically, we are going to be trying to identify _this_ universe's resonance so that we can use it as a reference point. From there we'll move onto how to feel out other universes by searching for their Universal Resonance. Then we move onto identifying the Celestial Realm and only then can we get to actually trying to open a portal." Inari said it all without stopping for a breath. She took a deep breath and smiled. "So, that's the plan. In theory, this could take as long as the rest of the year, or you could be stepping through a portal before dinner."

"Before dinner?" Taylor repeated.

The fox shrugged. "I have had the occasional student who is unnaturally talented with portals. The record from first concept to mastery is eight hours. Do not expect to come anywhere near it. Most average around six weeks of work for a full-scale portal of indefinite duration. Full-scale referring to a portal large enough for them to step through without ducking."

"In other words, two days is way too short," Taylor deadpanned.

"By far," Inari agreed, "But we should get plenty done. Most only practice for an hour or two a day. We have two days where we shall be continuing until you get tired." Her tail flicked as she smirked in that way that foxes couldn't. "Now, get seated properly and we'll begin."

Taylor assumed the meditative position that Inari had instructed her on the previous week and settled in. Finding the Universal Resonance was, as it turned out, a trial in and of itself. Inari did her best to coach her, but as the spirit pointed out, "You're only used to feeling out your domains, not the Thaumic energies behind them." The result was that over the next hour Taylor accidentally managed to form a rain cloud inside, which soaked them; summon a brief gust of wind which knocked a few pictures off the walls; break the faucet on the bathtub when they decided to move to the bathroom to avoid any further water-related damage to the house, though she had remembered to use her powers to draw the rainwater out of the carpet and furniture.

The next several hours, until they broke for lunch, were much the same. It was only thanks to her ability to control water that the two of them managed to leave a relatively disorganized bathroom looking dry rather than soaked to the bone.

Lunch was a nice BLT sandwich for Taylor and a plate of eggs and bacon for Inari, though afterwards, Taylor did have to wonder why the apple juice container was now empty.

With lunch out of the way they returned to the bathroom, which really should have been their first stop in hindsight, and Taylor curled up on a couple of pillows in the bathtub to continue her attempts at meditation. It was in the early afternoon when progress was finally made.

Taylor's ears twitched as she felt something other than her powers. Or more accurately, something behind them. Her hands, clasped in her lap, twitched as she felt something. Fingers twitched and she mentally reached for it.

"Stop." Taylor twitched and lost her focus as Inari spoke up.

She opened her eyes and frowned at the fox. "I think I found-"

"The actual thaumic energy field. Yes, I noticed," Inari nodded. "You were also about to light yourself up like a thaumic lightbulb." Taylor winced at that image. "Don't just _poke_ thaumic energy. You have to interact with purpose. Thaumic energies respond to willpower, but just touching it with your mind without direction behind it will cause it to flow back into you. It won't kill you, but I can guarantee we would be finished for today if you did that. I did warn you last night."

Had she? "I… don't really remember that bit," Taylor admitted. In her defence there had been a lot to remember the night before.

Inari grumbled from the other side of the tub before hopping over the side and into her lap. "Right, well I think I'm going to directly guide you from here on out," She said.

"You couldn't have done that before?" Taylor asked, fairly annoyed.

"You wouldn't have felt anything I was doing," Inari said as she settled into the tub with her. "Now, get to it. Let me know when you can sense it again."

Taylor sighed and closed her eyes. She let her mind sink back into the same state it had been. It was strange. It wasn't sight, but she could still picture what she was feeling. Now that she had noticed the Thaumic field it seemed so much more obvious. She drew some water from the air and 'watched' as the field moved in response to her desires. It responded without effort, shifting and bending like an extension of her body.

"I can feel it," Taylor said absently, "It's… Rather obvious now."

"It can be like that. However, don't believe that just because it reacts so easily under the influence of your domain that means it will be simple to control," Inari warned.

"Why is that anyway?" Taylor asked, opening her eyes. She stretched and yawned. Sitting in one place for hours was making her stiff. Inari opened her own eyes as Taylor brought over the little bit of water she had conjured. It was harder with her eyes open, but if she focused Taylor could almost feel the field of energy she was manipulating. "I didn't notice it before, but…"

"That is a critical aspect of how we know it is a domain that allows you to do so," Inari said as she observed the thin stream of water as it traced a figure eight in the air. "Why a domain allows a god to so easily manipulate thaumic energy, to the point that without trying to branch out they won't even notice its existence, is a very complicated subject," Inari continued, flicking her tail.

"How complicated are we talking here?" Taylor sent the water across the room to the sink.

"... I believe it would be a university program," Inari said after a thoughtful few moments. "Most likely a focus for a Doctorate or higher. Right now all you need is the how. The why can come later when we have the time. So, for now, please close your eyes and focus again. This time look for a disturbance amidst the field."

Taylor closed her eyes again. In moments she felt the disturbance close by her. In fact… "I feel it. Is it coming from you?"

"Yes, it is. Good, Good. Now, watch what I do," Inari instructed, beginning what would be the first of many lessons on Thaumic manipulation over the coming months and years.

They spent hours as Inari demonstrated how to safely interact with Thaumic energy and walked Taylor through her first interactions with it. She nearly mishandled it twice in the first hour, and averaged once every hour after, but by the time her dad interrupted them for dinner she had managed to go just over an hour without nearly botching it. She was, by Inari's assessment, "Doing well enough for the first day."

They were back at it after dinner with Taylor setting up on her bed now that she was no longer in danger of flooding a room. Hours of practice with simply touching and manipulating the energy for no purpose whatsoever finally came to an end at nine twenty-five that night.

"I think you have a grasp of this. Enough to start making an attempt at a more practical application anyway," Inari said finally.

"Such as?" Taylor prodded.

"The portal. If you were a Demigod I'd start with something else, but portals are more natural for actual Gods than most other things," Inari said from Taylor's pillow. "Now, let's focus here. As I said earlier we need to focus on identifying the Universal Resonance. Now, this is easier where we are because Brockton bay is not naturally an area where reality is thin. It is quite strong actually. However, this means that when we reach the next step, that of identifying the resonance of other universes, we will have issues. If I still had my own powers that is when I would take you somewhere where reality is weak to practice."

"Won't that make opening a portal harder?" Taylor asked. The fox shook her head.

"Reality flows like water against the will of a god. All you need to learn is how to identify where you wish to go. After that, all you have to do is learn how to bring two points with nothing in common together. Simple really." Inari shrugged.

"I don't like your definition of simple," Taylor deadpanned as she considered the plan.

"Then I suggest you get used to it because this is amongst the easiest things I shall ever teach you," Inari suggested, "Now, to identify the resonance…"

Sleep came after midnight when her dad put his foot down after she slipped in her handling of the Thaumic energy and got a firsthand experience with what Inari had meant. The flashing multi-colour lights and strange violin music that had lit up the house had brought her dad running.

As she curled up in bed she'd swear she could still taste the citrus light. Fortunately, the neon pink glow from her hair and tails had stopped as she had taken her shower. Falling asleep she made a quiet vow to not mention this to Vicky. She'd never hear the end of it.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Tuesday had seen significant and rapid progress towards the possibility of opening a portal. It had taken only another hour after she had started that morning to identify the resonance Inari was talking about. It was hard to put into words for Taylor. A feeling like a static charge, and yet a vibration at the same time. It was strange.

"There're terms for these things," Inari told her when she asked. Then she'd said something that Taylor had spent five minutes trying to replicate before giving up. "It's Greek, technically," The fox had elaborated, "You can blame Cronus for the term if it helps."

After a short break, they continued their efforts, this time to identify another Universal Resonance. The first, that of Earth Bet, had been easy once she was well-rested. The next ran smack into the issue Inari had spoken of the day before. Brockton Bay was fairly well solid as far as reality went. While that was a good thing, it did make trying to sense another universe rather difficult. Especially when you have no experience at it.

It was approaching three in the afternoon when Taylor finally identified another odd sensation buried beneath the resonance of Earth Bet. "Inari, is this it?" She asked gesturing with a mental flick across the thaumic field.

Inari perked up from where she was sitting and watching diligently. "I… hmm…" Inari's ears twitched as she considered what Taylor was trying to point out. "Describe it."

Taylor's own ears twitched as she considered how to describe the sensation she was feeling. After a moment she said, "Kinda… fizzy. No… foaming… Do you feel it?"

"Hmm… yes. I don't recognize the world. We should leave it be for now I think. Right, let's see about identifying two more. Then we can move onto tracking down the Celestial Realm."

Taylor sighed, but tried to refocus her mind. "How am I supposed to find one resonance amongst all of this?" She asked. The thaumic field was a mess of interference and just noticing a single resonance had taken them hours already.

"I can show it to you," Inari replied, "However, there will still need to be an effort on your part. Now, focus." Taylor grumbled but focused on the task. Another hour passed before she located another. It seemed to ring, like a bell without sound. Inari prodded her to continue, but by the time dinner rolled around she had yet to find another.

"So, you're trying to find other worlds?" Her dad asked at dinner. He had come home with several pizzas. Inari munched on a slice of pepperoni on a plate beneath the table as they ate.

"I did tell you this when I asked," Taylor sighed.

"I know, I'm just wondering if I need to worry about flooding again," He asked with a serious tone. She glanced up from her pizza with an annoyed look.

"One time," She groused, her tails flicked irritably. "I cleaned up the last mess I made."

"You did," He nodded, "But you're digging into other worlds. How do I know you aren't going to open onto an ocean or a volcano? Wouldn't this be safer to work on at a PRT facility? After last night-"

Taylor grumbled more. The neon pink tails had been terrible and an offence to her sense of style and good taste. "I'd rather not get the PRT involved with this. Not yet," She sighed.

"It would be preferable to keep this ability quiet I think," Inari piped up, hopping onto one of the spare chairs with an empty plate. "I gave the internet a poke a few days ago. I think I read something about laws restricting experimenting with crossing dimensions?"

"For tinkers. They can't exactly make your existence illegal," Danny pointed out, "This is innate, right?"

"Sort of," Inari answered as she hopped up onto the table and picked out another slice of pepperoni. After she dropped it on her plate she continued. "It's an ability all gods have a talent for. Technically anyone with divine potential could, theoretically, learn to do this. Gods have it easiest since the Celestial Realm naturally resonants with themselves."

"Wait, it resonates with me?" Taylor asked pointedly. She wondered what that meant exactly. It would have been nice to know earlier.

"Yes, and if you had noticed that and used it I would have been impressed," Inari said, "You've been looking purely outside yourself up until now. Once you had found a second resonance I was going to instruct you to look within."

"Which tells me nothing," Taylor complained.

"It tells you enough to get started," Inari corrected, sitting primly on the table. "A lot of this art is learned through doing. I can talk theory and method all day long and it won't matter a lick. Practice mixed with advice is the best guide for portal making."

Taylor opened her mouth to respond with an annoyed comment when her dad interrupted. "As interesting as this is, I would like to know if my house is about to burn down?" He asked pointedly.

Inari had the grace to look sheepish. "Yes, of course. Starting with the legal definition that I have been able to find. Opening portals is not her power. Let me make that clear, she can open portals by manipulating powers she can control that others cannot. This is, by the definition of the law, not her power, but a side effect of it. She has to learn how to do it. Now, I'm no expert on parahuman law, but the fact she has to learn to do this might mean it is illegal for her to do it. Maybe."

Taylor winced and her dad wiped his hands off with a napkin before rubbing his forehead. "Lovely. I'll talk to Carol in the morning," He held up a hand to forestall her complaint. "I want to know if we're at risk for not disclosing this. If we are, you are going to have to tell the PRT about it. Clear?"

Taylor sighed. "Clear," She groaned, "I just… don't want them to think I'm going crazy or something."

"And why would they think that?" Inari asked, puzzled.

The nine-tailed girl gave the fox a flat look. "Says the one whose been proclaiming me a goddess. They already think I'm a little bit out there because of you," She deadpanned.

"Sorry." She sounded less sorry than she had been a couple of days before. She did at least look sheepish about it, so there was that.

"So, on the matter of the house?" Danny prodded again.

"Not a danger," Inari said with a shake of her head. "While falling rocks, or other objects with force behind them can cross the portal's boundary, ordinary pressure cannot cause water or lava to pass from one world to another. The boundary lines make such an event impossible under normal circumstances… Unless, for example, we happened to open a portal right in front of a collapsing dam. Then I imagine the water may have enough force behind it to cross the boundary. That is very unlikely since we are going to be practicing with the Celestial Realm and limiting ourselves to trying to open a portal into the Peach Garden." She took a deep breath, "So no. Your house will be fine."

Danny took a bite of pizza and chewed it slowly as he considered the fox. "I'd still prefer that you did this somewhere other than my living room," He said pointedly after swallowing. "Our insurance rates won't be able to handle it if you dump a sea monster into the living room."

"Point," Taylor agreed, "I think we're done for today anyway."

"I'm sure you could make some more progress today if you tried," Inari said.

Taylor shook her head. "I need some time to think. I still have to give Glenn an answer tomorrow," She said. She had spent some time thinking about things, but she still needed to come to a final decision regarding the PR plan Glenn had pitched her. And she wanted to try her hand at drawing her own design for a logo as well.

"Mhmm," Danny held up a finger as he swallowed, "Don't forget that your medical exam is tomorrow as well as your security thing. Carol will be meeting you there along with her daughters. She's asked her daughter Panacea to double-check the doctor's work once they're done."

"I'll make sure not to stay up too late then," Taylor said, going back to her pizza.

Their conversation progressed into small talk and updates about the situation at the docks surrounding the removal of the shark. The entire thing was being slowed down by the PRT who were running tests on it. The only thing that they had told her dad was that it wasn't a great white.

After dinner Taylor retired to the living room again and stole the couch for herself before her dad could finish with the dishes. She flopped onto the couch with a happy sigh before wiggling up the armrest so she could reach over to the end table and grab her notepad and pen. Thusly armed she lopped back the way she came onto the fluffy pile of her tails.

"What are you doing?" Inari asked as she hopped up onto the couch and joined her amidst her tails.

"Drawing," Taylor said. She refused to elaborate and eventually Inari fell asleep against her. The fox stirred when Danny entered the room and turned on the TV, but remained asleep. A couple of hours passed as Taylor drew. Most attempts were abandoned halfway or less. Some had too many spikes. Some were just too unrelated, or obscure, or weird. Geometric shapes appeared and vanished to be replaced by stylized tails or weather-related iconography. It was at several hours later, by which point her dad had fallen asleep watching the TV, that she gave up. Drawing wasn't exactly a talent of hers, though she wasn't bad either. The bigger issue was trying to find something that fit her.

She tapped the pad with the backend of her pen as she thought. She had just been drawing random thoughts that came to mind, but that was probably why she didn't like them. They didn't fit either her or the type of hero she was trying to be. And there was a definite distinction between the two.

She licked her lips and nibbled on the end of the pen. Perhaps something less themed on her powers and more on the style she had agreed to? Something that spoke more about what she wanted to do with her status as a hero?

She rolled the pen between her fingers for a few moments then took it up again and started drawing. Three attempts were abandoned in short succession. Another followed ten minutes later. She stared at the page for a long moment before poking Inari with her pen. "Hey," She said, "Hey hey."

The fox grumbled and a bleary eye opened. "Mrhm?" The white fox grumbled.

"Can you do anything with Gems?" Taylor asked. She stared curiously down at the former goddess as her brain slowly processed the question.

"Um… yes?" Inari answered after a long few seconds. "Gems are used for enchantment and most of the technology back in the Celestial Realm requires gems in a variety of roles… why?"

Taylor turned her attention back to the pad without answering and after a few moments of impatient waiting Inari shrugged and flopped back into the pile of black tails. She was asleep again in moments.

So gems could have a use beyond looking good, but there was an issue if she went that route. Using a gem to hold a logo would result in the gem needing to be larger than the logo, which meant the logo had to be the gem, or the gem needed to be shaped into the logo. She scribbled another idea down. She crossed it out with a flurry of scribbling a few minutes later.

Nope, nope, nope. Not good enough, and Vicky would never let her hear the end of it.

Still, the more she thought about it the more she liked the idea of using a gem for the logo. She just needed something that fit what she wanted to be… If she knew what she wanted to-

"I know what I want to be…" She said softly as she shook her head. The question wasn't what she wanted to be. The question was whether she was willing to try and be it.

Her pen hesitated over the pad for a few more seconds then it came down and the soft scratch of pen on paper was buried beneath the sounds of the TV. Another hour passed and the 11 o'clock news began. Taylor stopped drawing and looked down at the picture. It could work. She'd have to ask Glenn how, but it could work. She poked Inari.

"Hey!"

The fox grumbled and looked up at her. "Sleep is good for you, ya know?" She grumbled, before blinking as Taylor shoved her drawing in front of her face. "What is this?"

"My final idea for tonight," Taylor told her with a yawn.

Inari stared at it, then looked up at her. "Watching cartoons rotted your brain, didn't it?"

"Your vote of non-confidence is so inspiring," Taylor deadpanned back as she folded up her notebook and shooed the fox off the couch.

"I like it, just… It's not really you, is it?" Inari pointed out.

Taylor ran her thumb over the cover of the notepad. "Not really, but this isn't about who I am," She said, "This is about what kind of hero I want to be."

Inari was silent as Taylor sat up and stretched. "So what kind of hero do you want to be?" She finally asked.

Taylor was quiet for a moment. "Someone," She began, hesitating as she spoke, "Someone that can be looked up to. Someone who stands for… something good I guess. That things… that things get better. Can get better. Are getting better. I'm... not sure how to put it."

"I think," Inari said with a shake of her head and a smile, "that the word you are looking for is Hope, Taylor."

The room fell silent except for the TV as Taylor weighed the word and its meaning. "As cheesy as it sounds, you're right," She said after a bit, standing up. "Anyway, maybe this works for that, maybe it doesn't. I'll ask Glenn tomorrow. For now, let's get dad up and head for a shower. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

Inari grinned at that and leapt across the room into Danny's lap. Her dad's shout of surprise as the fox landed on him brought a giggle to the surface from Taylor.

-0-0-0-0-0-

The boardwalk was a busy place, even on an overcast summer day. It was to be expected since it was the 'touristy' place in Brockton Bay that ran along the bayfront from north to south. In summer, the only time it wasn't crawling with tourists was when a storm swept in and drenched the beaches in enough rain to turn the sand into mud. It was a beautiful place with high-end shops and cafes that catered to those with a bit more money than sense.

For an enterprising pickpocket, it was both a great and terrible place to be. A lot of the visitors weren't paying much attention to their wallets or purses, but at the same time, the Boardwalk's private security was constantly on the lookout for those who didn't belong. Mostly gang members or small-time crooks.

Like a certain blonde girl in a sundress who was sparing very occasional, and very hasty, glances around her as she walked as nonchalantly as possible down the boardwalk. For Lisa Wilbourn, the day had started out fairly normally. Wake up, shower, eat breakfast, and maybe lounge around for a few hours as the sun slowly crept up into the sky. Then, after checking the weather, head out and look for marks.

For most pickpockets making more than just a living was difficult. For Lisa, well she had a few advantages. Superpowers were great at tipping the situation on its head. Most pickpockets couldn't steal your wallet and then guess your bank password by analyzing what you were eating and who you were eating it with.

It really sucked to be a rich guy on the boardwalk some days.

Now, it was rare she actually managed to snag a mark that good, but it had happened a couple of times and her decent living arrangements were a testament to that. Still, she reflected as she hurried down the boardwalk, perhaps she had let her success get to her head just a bit too much. Despite her powers, she couldn't figure out why the enforcers, two in particular, were moving to-

_Glancing to phone. Plans to make a phone call after catching you. Calling boss._

Great, so she was wanted by someone rich enough to buy off the enforcers. Or, she had stepped on more toes than she realized and whoever funded them wanted her dealt with. A flicker of movement up ahead drew her eye towards two more enforcers moving towards her from the other direction.

_Coordinating with other enforcers. Knows your heading his way. Watching._

Shit. Lisa glanced about. Going out onto the beach was out. Sure there were a lot of people out there, but she was overdressed for it, and tall enough to stand out amidst the beach chairs and screaming children. So that left...

_Alleyway, left-hand side. An employee just exited after emptying waste bins. Most likely empty of people._

She glanced about, waited for a moment when the crowds hid her from view, then slipped left and into the alleyway as she reached it.

_Crowd blocking view. Escape unnoticed. So far._

Good.

Lisa adjusted her purse on her shoulder and hurried down the dirty alleyway. It emptied out onto the street behind the shops. From there she could duck into another alleyway and make her way back towards the main streets away from the boardwalk. She'd have to head home, maybe see about dyeing her hair. Different clothes were a must. Maybe some make-up to hide her freckles better.

She stepped out of the end of the alleyway. Something shifted to her right.

_Heavy breathing. Squeal of rubber twisting. Person on the left. In-_

The right hook caught her square in the side of the face, sending her spinning to the ground with a shout of surprise.

_Fist large. Most likely a large male, adult._

"I almost didn't make it around here in time," The man said as he pressed the back of his foot into the small of her back. "Good eye Ricky," He shouted up the alleyway.

_Footsteps, four men. Enforcers. Cornered._

Well, no shit she was cornered. Cornered and pinned. What to do, what to do…

_Grown men, athletic, strong. Skilled with martial arts. Cut of jackets suggests concealed guns._

Nothing she didn't already know, but it drove home the point. She was fucked.

"Nice try girl, but we've got people scattered all over the boardwalk," The guy who had her pinned said as he roughly handcuffed her and hauled her to her feet. He leaned into her vision and grinned. He was a particularly unpleasant looking man with scars across both eyes, a broken smile, and the sort of greasy look to him that suggested he wouldn't do too badly as a used car salesman.

"Let me go," She tried to yank herself away. It failed miserably as he just held onto her without straining himself. Damn it.

One of the men walking towards them pulled out a cellphone and dialled a number. "Hey boss… yeah we got her. Want to talk to her?"

_Tone respectful. Patient. Believes himself to be in control. Hopes you keep resisting. Wants you to resist. Would like to-_ Lisa squashed that line of thought before her powers could continue.

"Yeah, yeah. Bill, Rio, Hernandez, make sure no one interrupts. Drag her around the corner Jeff." The guy, who was probably the aforementioned Ricky, ordered, taking one of her arms as he and the guy who grabbed her dragged her out of sight of the boardwalk.

Maybe ducking into an alleyway was a dumb idea after all.

She let out a gasp as they slammed her back up against the wall. Jeff held her there as Ricky stepped out in front of her with the cellphone. He held it out in front of her. "You're on Boss," He said. The phone crackled a bit.

"Ms. Livsey," A smooth voice coiled from the phone. She stared. How did they know that name? She had been born Sarah Livsey so how did they know that? "I am pleased, to make your acquaintance."

_Confidant. Know he's in charge. Knows you can't escape. Knows who you are and where you live. Probably has people watching in case you had escaped him here. Voice is clinical. Considers this merely another minor event. Is likely to have you killed if you don't do what he says._

Oh joy. "Can't say the same," She snarked and winced as Jeff roughly pushed her against the wall. The walls were cinder block and time had worn the smooth sides off the blocks. They scraped at her skin but failed to draw blood.

"A pity. Ms. Livsey-" The voice

"Call me Ms. Wilbourn at least," She smirked, "I know you know that much." So snarking at her captors was probably a bad idea.

_Jeff getting angrier. Is only using one hand. Other hand reaching for weapon._

So she'd need to be a bit more careful apparently. Whoops.

"So I do," The voice said calmly, though a faint tone of annoyance was faintly noticeable to Lisa. "Very well then, Ms. Wilbourn, if that is who you wish to be. I am Coil."

She knew that name. He was a small-time supervillain more known for how well equipped his mercenaries were with tinker-tech than anything else. "So, what can a little pickpocket like me do for a big fish like yourself?" She asked lightly.

"I am putting together a team of parahumans. Thieves. I would like you to join them," Coil said smoothly. She didn't need powers to tell he wasn't asking.

"Well, I suppose I'll have to look at my busy schedule. Maybe I can join them sometime between now and never," She replied. A fist in her gut forced her to double over gasping as Ricky responded to her disrespect.

"Thank you Richard," Coil said smoothly after she stopped gasping. "Now, Ms. Wilbourn, I am asking politely here. My team needs a thinker of your calibre. Your talent for analyzing information is with few equals."

"I don't want that kind of heat," She replied with a grimace, "You think I want to dress up in spandex and go out to join the high-stakes cops and robbers game that every idiot in this city plays? Fuck off."

"Lisa, Lisa, Lisa," Coil sighed, "I was not asking. Jeffery." The feeling of cold metal pressed against the side of her temple.

_.45 calibre 1911 Colt. Bullet won't miss. Damage will-_

She didn't need to be thinking about how her brains would be splattered across the backstreet. What to do… what to do… She didn't really have a choice anymore did she? This wasn't how she expected things to go when she ran from home. Handcuffed in a backstreet with a pistol to her head and no way to get help.

"Now, I hesitate to waste a talented mind, but if you don't wish to work for me I'm afraid I cannot run the risk that others may snatch you up. So, for the last time. Agree to join the Undersiders. The pay will be quite good, I promise," He drawled. He knew he'd won. Bastard.

Still, she hesitated, even as Jeff pushed the gun into her temple. After a long, terrifying second, she closed her eyes. "Okay. I'll do it," She said. Fuck.

Coil chuckled politely. "Excellent. Richard-" Whatever Coil was going to say was cut off as Jeff shouted in pain and dropped his gun. At the same time the man watching the alley shouted something as he went flying across the narrow backstreet into the concrete wall of the rear of a Japanese restaurant. Lisa stared as Ricky's legs went out from under him and the phone slipped from his hands as he went to catch himself.

Another of the five who was watching down the street shouted as he joined the other thug in bouncing off the cinderblock wall of the Japanese restaurant.

_Shadows moving unnaturally. Cape._

Lisa glanced down. The shadows were moving, seeming to grasp outstretched the men and toss them about the street. Ricky shouted and scrambled for his gun as some force picked him up by his ankle and bashed him against the wall, leaving a streak of blood, before tossing him to Lisa's feet.

She glanced towards Jeff. She blinked and looked about. He wasn't there. Ricky was gone as well. All the bodies were gone, leaving only streaks of blood and the still operational cellphone.

"I expected better of a neighbourhood so close to the boardwalk," A heavily accented woman's voice said.

_Asian, most likely native Japanese, Tokyo._

Lisa blinked as a short woman with long black straight hair wearing a dress and a frilly-pink apron with a hello-kitty picture in the center of it. She looked very disappointed.

_Very disappointed. Was always there. Is fluffy. Shadows not moving naturally._

"What is going on there?" Came Coil's voice from the phone.

"Hello," Lisa said awkwardly. Fluffy? Well her power occasionally spat out bad results, but that seemed a little far off the mark even for that. And, yeah, the weirdly moving shadows were connected to her feet.

"Good afternoon Ms… Wilbourn I believe you prefer?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yes?" Something about her was terrifying on a level Lisa couldn't quite point to.

"Hmm, you seem to have had a bit of trouble. Behind my shop no less. Lucky for you." The woman said, her tone measured, but possibly sympathetic.

_Shadow in shape of canid. Moving shadows are tails. Count: Seven._

She was a cape with a strange power over shadows, or something. Best to be polite, especially since she just saved her ass.

"Thank you, that was getting a bit uncomfortable. Um, you wouldn't happen to know where they left the keys for these?" Lisa held her hands up in front of her. Then blinked.

_Handcuffs missing._

Yeah. She'd noticed. Thanks.

"You mean these?" The woman held up a hand. Locked handcuffs dangled from a finger. She flicked them down the street.

_No sound of impact. Handcuffs vanish_. _She is smug._

Well… that was disconcerting. "So, can I help you?" Lisa asked, very aware of how smug the woman's narrow smile had grown.

"I believe you are the one in need of help," She said as she walked over to Lisa. She brushed aside Lisa's hair which had fallen across her face in the struggle. She tsked as she examined the bruising forming on her cheek. "Tell me, do you have a place to go?"

_Desires honesty._

"Not really? I think they're watching my apartment," Lisa admitted.

"Hmm. Then you stay with me tonight at least. We will talk about your options in the morning. Though, I believe your business is still unfinished," She gestured down to the phone that was still running.

_Will not accept no. Is offering food and a room. Probably without strings._

Licking her lips a bit Lisa leaned down, wincing from the pain, and picked up the phone. She raised it to her ear and turned off the speakerphone. "Heya," She said, being deliberately cheerful.

"Ms. Wilbourn-"

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to say no to that job offer. Ciao~" She hung up and dropped the phone. She didn't bother looking when the sound of it hitting the floor failed to appear.

Creepy.

"So," Lisa began a bit nervously, "What do I get to call my saviour?" She asked.

The older Japanese woman examined her for a moment. "Hrm… You may call me Mrs. Nakamura. Please, follow me." With that, the strange cape turned and walked back into her shop through the steel backdoor. Lisa didn't dare not follow.

-0-0-0-0-0-

A/N: Thanks again Gekkou_Yoko ~ Your proofreading is immensely helpful~ *Happy Kitsune*

Happy New Years everyone~ I hope everyone is enjoying themselves so far this year? Well this is going to be the last chapter of this story for a bit, I've got a backlog of other stories I need to update and school is upcoming, plus I need to find a part-time job. Car insurance sadly costs more money every year. T.T *sad kitsune* Just wish I knew how to get even a low paying job that involved writing. The one thing I'm actually fairly good at.

Next time this story posts it will have a Cover Page, hopefully. I just need to find someone to do it first. That'll be paid for by the , which again thank you, everyone, who has contributed to that.

To those who just want to chat and discuss my stories I've got a Discord, you can find it in my signature along with all of my other stories. See you there~ (For , thanks for reading, but links do not come through for fanfiction dot net so you'll need to wander over to the forums of Sufficient Velocity or Spacebattles if you want to find a way to join the conversation)


	9. Chapter 9

-0-0-0-0-0-

A Worm Fanfic

The Taste of Peaches

By: Grounders10

-0-0-0-0-0-

9

-0-0-0-0-0-

Going to the PRT headquarters was still a strange experience for Taylor. There was a small part of her that was nervous as she followed the PRT trooper out of the parkade. It was the stares that did it. Most capes didn't look like capes when out of costume. Taylor couldn't help but stand out when her tails and ears were so distinctly inhuman. Which led to most of those PRT people who hadn't yet gotten used to her stopping what they were doing to watch her go by.

Not many had gotten used to her yet.

As the PRT Trooper escorting her reached the elevator the doors slid open to reveal the armoured form of Gallant. The Ward stepped out of the elevator, nodded once to the trooper, before stopping abruptly as he spotted her. "Taylor, here to sign up?" he asked, sounding surprised, and muffled, through his helmet

She smiled nervously and futilely brushed a strand of hair back. Without her old ears, it swung forward again. She was going to need to get some hairpins if it kept doing that. "Gallant, hi," she said with an awkward wave, "And I signed up a few days ago. I'm here about my costume and the rest."

"Ah, at Glenn's whims then," he nodded.

She snorted. "Not really. We've been having a hard time finding a good symbol though," she said, her mind going to the folder she had under one arm. She was still a little divided over her own proposal. It was a bit similar to some of the ones she had tossed out a few days ago and well… there was a reason Inari had asked her if she'd rotted her brain watching cartoons.

"Not for lack of trying though," Inari said from where she was sitting at Taylor's feet, "They went through dozens of them last time."

"They were rather bad," Taylor agreed.

"Yeah, I've heard it can get a bit silly. It's great to see you again, but I need to get to my ride. I'm on a patrol with Aegis and only one of us can fly," the armoured Ward said as he started for the exit. "If you get a chance to visit the Ward's rooms, Vista is going to be up there all day today and she could use someone to save her from Clockblocker."

Taylor groaned. "Oh, I see how it is. You just want me to distract Clockblocker," she mock-whined, earning a chuckle from the young hero who waved one last time before he slipped out the exit door. She shook her head and followed the PRT Trooper into the elevator the man had been holding open for her politely. "Thank you," she said, getting a polite nod from them.

"Well, he seemed happy to see you," Inari said as the elevator jerked into movement.

"Yeah…" Taylor agreed as they rose higher. The doors slid open and Taylor ducked out and to the side to let the trooper out. A few minutes later she thanked the trooper and ducked into the conference room. Glenn looked up from a folder as she stepped in with her own folder under one arm and Inari at her heels.

"Ms. Hebert, welcome," Glenn said with a smile. He set the folder down on the table and tapped it with a finger. "I have some more possibilities right here if you'd like to take a look."

Taylor smiled and held up her own folder. "I've got one as well," She said, wiggling the folder at him. He held out a hand. "Later. After my questions," She told him, taking a seat at the table. She glanced about as she sat. Only one of the work tables had someone at it and they were entirely focused on something that required the use of a desk-mounted magnifying glass.

"Did you have a nice couple of days?" Glenn asked conversationally as he took a seat across from her.

Taylor chewed her lip and shrugged. "I needed time to think," She said, getting a nod from the man.

"I'm aware. I expected something along those lines when we had our previous conversation," Glenn said, "I put quite a bit on you then. Maybe a bit too much." He grimaced wryly. He seemed genuinely pained.

Taylor shook her head. "It wasn't entirely you," She admitted reluctantly, "I didn't bother thinking about this as much as I should have before and…"

"I pushed it into your face. Yes, I realize that. Now, you had questions?" Glenn prompted, steering the conversation away from the awkward moment.

She nodded her thanks. "Yeah. I have a few," She said. Inari stepped around a stack of papers on the table and sat down on the tabletop next to Taylor.

"Then shoot."

Taylor leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. "You want to make me as big as Alexandria or the rest of the Triumvirate." It was a statement rather than a question, but Glenn nodded anyway.

"Yes," He acknowledged.

"You want to make me as big and famous and important as Alexandria, but you want me to be approachable, friendly and someone people can look up to. How? How do you plan on taking me and getting," She waved at the ceiling vaguely, searching for words.

"It's not something that's going to happen overnight," Glenn said, "Well, it could. If we were willing to put this entire thing off for a few months so that we could get you trained up in a variety of skills, but that would leave you practically locked up and neither of us wants that."

Taylor nodded. Glenn continued, "Since we don't have the time to teach you the skills you need before we debut you, we'll instead be focusing on a fairly standard introduction. Patrols, routine PR events, etc. The focus will be on getting the public used to you. It's the same thing we do with every Ward. After a few months, we will begin to move onto less standard events. Perhaps we'll have you record a song if you're up for it. If you were based elsewhere I would suggest trying to orchestrate a situation or two where you fight and defeat some minor villain after six months, however since you are going to be staying here in Brockton I suspect that will happen a lot sooner than we would prefer."

"You would, deliberately, set me up to fight a villain?" Taylor said flatly. Part of the Wards program was supposedly keeping her out of harm's way, though that was probably easier said than done in Brockton Bay.

Glenn nodded. "Yes. Someone like Leet or Uber, or…" he paused, "I'll admit Brockton is a less than ideal location for such a plan. Most places are substantially less consistently dangerous. Also, such an event would only be planned out once you had completed sufficient training for the head of the local Protectorate to consider you capable of handling yourself responsibly. It is meant to get your name in the paper, not place you in mortal peril. A Protectorate hero would be on hand to help with any issues. However, you're in Brockton Bay. Wards in this city tend to get into a fight of some kind at least twice a month, despite efforts to keep them out of the way."

The older man's shoulders sagged as he sighed. "This city is dangerous. I won't play games like that here, just like I wouldn't in Chicago, Los Angeles, or New York. The fact is opportunity will come knocking without either of us wanting it to," he said.

Taylor grimaced. "Anything else?" She asked.

"That depends on how your lessons go and what opportunities arise. Perhaps a bit of modelling work on behalf of the PRT, or helping out with humanitarian causes. Contrary to popular belief Taylor, a lot of being a good PR manager is knowing when to leap and when to hold back. And right now we don't even know how you'll be received by the public. Perhaps there'll be an incident of murderous foxes the day before your reveal, or the Simurgh will be spotted with tails or maybe another fox related cape will sweep in and save an orphanage the day before. Until you are out there, and I know how you're received, my plan is about as detailed as I can make it."

It wasn't a very detailed plan in Taylor's opinion, but she had to agree that without knowing how she was going to be received it was pointless to plan more and said as much.

"So, any further questions?" Glenn asked, "Or can we get onto business?" He slid over the folder full of possible logos.

"Sure," Taylor agreed as she cracked open the folder. The pictures inside were of a higher quality than the previous round. There were a few hearts, some with tails; some clouds; a large and detailed wireframe of a fox head; and some type of fruit with a foxtail. That last one was probably from the same guy who wanted her to wear a flower. She set aside a picture of a fox head over a star.

"Don't like it?" Glenn asked.

"Hmm, oh. No, it's into consideration," she said as she continued to flip through the ideas. She waved over Inari and showed her a particularly odd design of a fox eared chestnut. Inari snorted and pawed her own face as Taylor snickered. They were better than last time, but only a few made it into the pile for consideration. Compared to a couple of days ago, it was progress.

"So, you've once again crushed the hopes and dreams of my staff," Glenn mused as he took the folder back. He flipped through it as she snorted.

"There's a picture of a chestnut with fox ears and a fox with flowers for eyes. These might be dreams, but I'm not exactly getting hope from seeing them," she said as she carefully flipped through the five that had made it through her screening. There were two hearts, the fox head over star, a winged cloud, and an elegant arrangement of lightning bolts behind a fox head.

"Hmm… And hope is important for you?" He asked. She nodded. "Interesting…" He flipped through the suggestions. "I agree, these ones don't inspire hope." He tossed the folder onto a stack that tipped over and slowly slid out of the chair it was in. He ignored it and held out a hand. "The rest?" he requested.

She passed them over and he flipped through them. He paused at one then dropped it from the stack. "No on the lightning one. I can hear the news tearing it apart for being too militant." She nodded.

A heart cloaked in tails followed momentarily. "A cloak implies that you have something to hide," he explained, "It has come to symbolize deception and untrustworthiness." Neither of which was something they wanted. The winged cloud was tossed off. "Too generic, and militant as well. Plus you don't have wings. Thank god. The Simurgh comparisons would be writing themselves right now." Taylor winced at that. Winged capes tended to have a bad reputation these days due to the actions of the Endbringer.

"I like the fox head over the star, it's similar to the stand-in we've been using up until now. And the heart with a tail is cheerful, but I'm not so certain about it," he finished, setting the folder with the remaining two down. "And you had one you brought with you?"

Taylor carefully slid the folder across the table, a part of her stomach dropping out. It was, in many ways, guilty of the same things that she had rejected previous ideas for. Glenn flipped the folder open and raised an eyebrow at the first page. There was a heart, large and faceted, drawn in black pen and with a little note on it saying 'garnet, red'. Behind the heart was a whirlpool of nine tails. The tips were labelled 'silver' while the main body of the tails that spiralled behind the heart were labelled 'orange-red'.

Glenn looked it over for a moment before speaking. "The first thing that jumps out at me," he began, "is that this is a heart."

"Yeah…" Taylor blushed minutely. Beside her, Inari sighed and covered her snout with a paw.

"Red, instead of pink at least. With a lot of foxtails," Glenn continued, "set into a spiral, or whirlpool perhaps?" He looked up at her.

"Both," Taylor said. "Or maybe a hurricane. I mean, you can't see the center of it." That was the main reason she had decided to put the spiral into the design. It could refer to her foxiness, or her storm domain, or it could just as easily refer to her sea domain.

"Hmm, and the heart? You didn't like it last time, but this time I noticed two snuck through your screening," Glenn asked.

Inari snickered. "Cartoons rotted her brain," the fox said, earning a blush from Taylor.

"You kept putting them on," she hissed.

Glenn chuckled as the two of them stared each other down. "So you can say that you've had a change of heart then?" Taylor groaned and Inari sighed as the PRT's Head of PR laughed. "Ah, puns, they have a way of lightening the heart," he chuckled, getting a second groan from Taylor.

"Please stop," she complained. She didn't sign up to be tortured with puns.

"Yes, please stop Boss," Marcy said from across the room. She and the other assistants in the room were all giving Glenn disappointed looks.

He waved them off. "I'll be serious, I'll be serious," he said while shaking his head. "Now, seriously, what led to you choosing a heart?" he asked.

"Well…" Taylor leaned back in her chair and looked up at him. His gaze was held was expectant and she could feel that this was probably a test of some kind. "I tried all kinds of things. I spent hours doodling little clouds, hammers, waves… A lot of fox heads," she admitted, "And lightning bolts and… I eventually asked myself what I wanted from a… a symbol I was going to be wearing for years. The clouds, the lightning, the waves, the foxes, it all symbolizes me. Me, as I am now. I don't really stand for much yet."

"Which would give you room to define its meaning more than it defines you," Glenn observed.

Taylor nodded. "I guess, but I wanted something to work towards. Something to aspire to, I guess," she replied.

"A heart has many meanings. Passion, love, and purity amongst others. What does it mean for you that you'd want to put it there," he pointed to the mannequins in the corner there were wearing several alternate colour variations of her uniform. His finger was pointed dead center at the placeholder star resting on the breast of the red uniform. "There, where everyone is going to see. Where it will draw the eye. What meaning do you _want_ people to take from it?"

Taylor rolled a strand of hair between her fingers, coiling it absently. "The heart of the storm, an island of calm amidst the passions of the world," she began softly, her words forming from the vague feelings she had channelled when creating the drawing the night before, "The world is full of passions. Hate, anger, fear, it's all swirling around us, tugging at us and trying to pull us away from our places of happiness and safety. It tries to rip us from our friends and our family. I've… the last two years have been one thing after another for me. My mother, my best friend…" Emma… "My dad, I've been pulled out of where I feel…" she took a deep breath and paused.

Glenn waited.

Hesitantly, she continued, "I want to be there again. In that heart, right there, and I want to be the one who protects it for everyone else. I am not a whirlpool that drowns lives, or the storm that breaks families." She reached out and laid a finger on the tails that surrounded the heart. She traced the circle they made around the heart. The air shivered with her next words.

"I am the storm that guards." In the silence that followed she felt a powerful blush form on her cheeks. It was so cheesy, but the words had just flowed naturally from her mouth and even now, as she realized just how childish it sounded in the air, they felt too right to deny.

"So it shall be," Inari whispered beside her, the fox's voice travelling no further than her ear. Taylor glanced her way and raised an eyebrow questioningly as Inari bowed. She turned from the fox to Glenn.

The poorly dressed man was nodding, a wide smile on his face. "You get it," he said, nodding once.

"I get it?" she repeated.

He closed the folder quietly and laid it down on the table again. He folded his hand atop it and leaned forward across the table. "Do you remember what I said last time? About the crisis of trust that the PRT was encountering?" he asked. She nodded.

"I do."

"Part of the issue is that I can make people look like heroes. I can dress them up in bright colours, give them lines, and orchestrate a hundred public appearances. That doesn't make them a hero," he frowned, "Being a hero requires so much more. It takes a drive to succeed and the compassion to care more for others than yourself. That's a rare combination to find and while I can get Protectorate members to give speeches and make kind gestures... " He shook his head. "At the end of the day, the public knows when someone is being sincere. It isn't their words, or their costumes, or how many crooks and criminals they drag in. There's something genuine that only people like Legend, Mouse Protector, or Chevalier have and the public can tell."

He leaned back from the table and gave her a smile. "I've learned to tell when people are merely going through the motions. I don't waste my time helping them. There's nothing I can do that won't eventually be destroyed when they slip up and the world sees the truth. Right now, what you just said, as cheesy and corny as I'm sure you believe it sounded… You believed every word. You get it in your heart, pardon the pun, even if you haven't learned how to act on it."

Taylor felt her cheeks burn at the praise. "I'm…" She shrugged, unsure of how to respond. He chuckled and waved her off.

"Don't worry, that's what the Wards Program is for," he said reassuringly before flipping open the folder again. He slid the first picture aside and checked the next. He hummed as he flipped through the handful of pages. "None of these are as developed as the first was, but if I'm reading your notes here right, you believe you could have multiple symbols?"

She nodded, trying to put her blush behind her. "The heart and tails are a bit big. There's plenty of room on my uniform for one, but putting them on the boots and other places would be a bit much. And if I eventually get other equipment putting large gems all over them would be... expensive?"

He chuckled. "It would," he agreed as he flipped through them. "Your appearance means that foxes will always be associated with you, and your choice of a heart means the same for hearts. With that in mind…" he withdrew three separate sketches from the folder, one of which she had idly drawn on the way over that morning. "These three would be most appropriate." The first was a rough sketch of a wireframe stylized foxhead in front of a pair of storm clouds. The second was a trio of hearts clustered with decorative fox ears. The last was a small fox sleeping on a cloud.

"... Really?" Taylor tilted her head to the side as her right ear twitched. Off to the side she heard a giggle from one of the assistants.

"The first is more serious and perfect for when a subdued design is required," Glenn said, "The second can easily be incorporated into your costume's jewelry and any merchandise we decide to sell. And the last also works well for merchandising."

Well, a sleeping fox was adorable, so she could see that and the hearts had been an idle thought that morning as well. "I hadn't thought about merchandising," she admitted, "I was just trying to find one good design."

"And you did," Glenn said, sliding the three secondary designs to the side with the first one. He made a few notes on the pages as Taylor watched. "I think we have a winner for your primary Logo design now unless you have a problem with your own work?" He looked up expectantly.

"I'm good," she said nodding. She had expected more opposition, perhaps a lecture on design or aesthetics, not what felt like some form of morality test.

Glenn slid the four winners into a new folder and handed them off to Marcy. "Run these down to the local team. Get them to work prototyping," he said to her. As she hurried off Glenn turned back to her. "And that is one of three things on our list today checked off. Next, next… uuh," he snapped a finger and pointed to the mannequins behind him. "Costume changes, right. Taylor, come over and take a look," he said, standing up.

As Taylor got up and walked around the table Glenn rearranged the three mannequins to give more room to stand around them. Other than the colours there were a couple of small differences from the original design. Along the collar, small golden swirls had been added in a repeating pattern. The skirts were an inch or two longer as well.

"We took your advice into consideration and since you gave us extra time I had them go looking into alternate colour palettes," Glenn said as she joined him. "It was decided that a light green or a light blue would be best with your skin tone and the style of the costume."

She walked around the mannequins and noted that the tail hole had been redone, which was nice since the last time it had given her a kink on two of her tails. "I like the colours," she admitted. It wasn't her normal style, but it fit the look of a hero more than her normal colours. It was still going to take a while to get used to wearing something so bright all the time, though. She pulled at the green skirt. The skirt, and the blue one as well, had a more noticeable colour gradient that grew brighter the closer to the bottom of the skirt it got. It didn't turn white, but the green and blue did get close.

"That's good to hear," Glenn replied with a smile. "Any issues with some of the other changes we made? We had the tail hole enlarged like you asked and we added these little swirls along the collar. To give it more of a connection to your powers."

"I noticed and I like them," she said, toying with one of the gloves from the red mannequin. They had added an embroidered fox head to the back in gold thread. "This might be a bit much, however." She waved the glove at him. He looked over the gloves and nodded.

"Should I tell them to remove the embroidery from the next one, or try adding a different design?" he asked as he examined them.

"Remove I think. I think they look better without it," Taylor said, getting a nod.

"I'll pass that on. Anything else?" he asked. She shook her head. It all looked good to her. "Excellent. Now I had some of our people prepare two other versions of your costume that were more extreme variations on the same theme. Just for you to look over." He looked around and waved to one of his assistants. "Get the other two out here please," he ordered.

A pair of assistants ducked into the changing booth in the corner and emerged with two very different costumes. They were both, broadly, of the same style as the original. Same skirting style, same bodice style, and even the same gloves and boots. That was where the similarities ended. The first was a combination of forest greens and soft browns with gold accents and a dark green star hanging from the chest.

The second was… there was no polite way to put it. It belonged to her evil twin. Black where there had been white. Blood red skirt with silver highlights and purple secondary highlights. All with a reworked high collar and… was the skirt shorter? She tilted her head to the side and stared at it. Yes and no seemed to be the answer. Yes, it was shorter than the rest of the outfits, but only because it simply hadn't been lengthened as she had requested, unlike the rest.

She could hear Inari palming her muzzle from across the table. Taylor ignored the distant grumbling she could hear from her advisor and turned a raised eyebrow on Glenn. "Really?"

He chuckled. "What do you think? Honestly."

She turned back to stare at the black monstrosity. "That looks like something my evil twin would wear," she deadpanned, earning giggles from the ladies.

"I can see that. And the other one?"

She stared at the forest-themed outfit and took a moment to walk around it. "Well," she began, "if I ever develop a green thumb it would work." Inari snorted. Oh yeah, she had an Agriculture Domain she hadn't explored yet, didn't she? "Was this by the guys who kept trying to propose flowers for my symbol?"

"It was," Glenn admitted, "They originally kept trying to put you in yellow and orange."

Taylor's ear twitched and she looked over to the other three more 'normal' costumes. "A light orange might have worked," she mused.

"Possibly," he nodded, making a note on a pad. "And the other one is what happens when I tell a group to give me the least PR friendly outfit they could design with the same limitations as the rest."

That got a raised eyebrow from her. "Why?" She asked.

"I was curious," Glenn admitted, "I wasn't expecting them to go for the teenage Maleficent look. Still, it's an example of what not to do. That much black and dark red would make you appear quite pale." And she wasn't exactly the most colourful person, even now. She wasn't exactly pale per se, but her skin wasn't tanned by any measure of the term especially after so little time outside this month.

"So do I pick one, oooor?" she asked, looking them over with a critical eye. The evil twin look was obviously a joke, and a lesson, but the wood themed one might not be a bad idea for the future. Something to use if she was doing something flowery. She liked the other three though. They were still brighter than she was used to, but they looked amazing.

"Well, we provided the variety since you are going to be less dependent on a consistent appearance than a normal hero," Glenn said, waving a hand to the original three. "Your face and tails will say more than the colour of your skirt, and it will help sell your image as an ordinary girl."

"The fact that you'll be able to sell collectable figurines with different coloured skirts has nothing to do with it, I'm sure?" she remarked dryly.

"Perish the thought," Glenn chuckled, "So? Which do you like?"

"Hmmm," she hummed as she walked around the mannequins one last time. "The red, blue and green are all good. The wood themed one might be useful at some point in the future so maybe don't toss it out. And uh… burn the black one?"

"I can arrange that. Now," he looked over the mannequins. "I'm going to need you to pick one for today. We need a test of the uniform and how it fits over a prolonged period of time, so I'm going to need to insist that you pick one to wear. We have the spares in the changing booth when you're ready." He waved to the booth in the corner.

Oh.

She gave the mannequins a last look over. Which did she want to wander around the building in… "I'll go with the red for now," she sighed. She hadn't planned to wear them around today, but then she should have expected that. Testing needed to be done. She sighed dramatically again and ignored the snickering from Inari as she walked over to the changing booth. True to Glenn's words there were spares to four of the mannequins hanging up. The evil twin design had apparently been enough of a joke they never made a spare.

Thirty minutes later she stared at her reflection in the mirror. As she snapped the latches of her boots together. She stood straight and brushed her hair back over her shoulder before adjusting her collar. Everything seemed to fit properly now. Her tails weren't complaining and she could breathe without feeling like she was about to send the decorative star on her chest through the nearest wall at any second. She was lacking a few pieces that were on the mannequins. The headpiece was missing, presumably unfinished, and the gloves were lacking the related golden stars that had been used previously. It was clearly unfinished in some of the details, but it was probably more than good enough for the test.

Hair and collar settled, she smoothed her skirt and stepped out of the booth. The ladies were sorting paperwork while Glenn was writing a list of names onto one of the boards. He paused and looked over his shoulder. "Ah, Taylor. You look good in it. Any issues?" He asked.

She twisted on the spot before giving a little pirouette. "Everything seems good," she said afterwards. "A lot better than last time, at least."

"The miracle of correct measurements," one of Glenn's assistants snarked. Taylor snerked as she passed, getting a smirk from the older woman.

"How do I look?" she asked Inari as she paused to watch Glenn write what she realized was the list of possible cape names onto the board.

Inari looked her up and down. "Like you're ready to kick ass in the name of love and justice," she said in a deadpan.

Taylor snorted. "You're the one who kept putting that show on."

"It's a good show," Inari defended with a huff. "You look great. Hmm…" She gave Taylor another look over.

"What?" Taylor asked.

"Nothing. You look good," Inari said. She gave the fox a look of disbelief before looking herself over again. There had to be something.

She turned up nothing by the time Glenn finished writing down the names.

"Onto our third task of today," Glenn said as he capped the marker. "We narrowed it down last time, but I have to ask if you had any ideas since last time?" He looked expectant.

She shook her head. "Not a one. I was too busy," she said.

"Ah," he said looking disappointed. "Well, we'll have to pick one of these within the next…" he glanced at his tablet, "twenty minutes. At most. You'll have to head off to the security office and they get bent out of shape if they don't have at least a temporary alias to go on the paperwork. Though, I should point out that 'temporary' tends to become 'permanent' in the PRT when it comes to names."

Taylor grimaced. "Oh." Lovely. A time limit. She stared up at the board. "Honestly, I'm not exactly thrilled with most of these anymore," she said.

"You say most, which do interest you still?" Glenn asked.

"Corentine and Kei," Taylor said. The first was either Breton or French depending on who you asked and was assumed to mean 'storm' or 'hurricane'. Appropriate for her. Kei was a Japanese word with what seemed like a thousand meanings including blessed, lucky, happy, respectful, spring, and 'sunny'. It apparently depended on how you spelt it.

"Hrm…" Glenn rubbed his chin and looked the two over. "Do you mind if I make a suggestion?"

"Go ahead."

"Corentine is our best option here," he said, "The ABB is prickly and easily offended at times. Unless you plan on fighting Lung sometime soon, which I would advise against by the way, it would be better to avoid possibly antagonizing them."

"Corentine…" Taylor tasted the name. "Corentine, Coren, Tine… Corentine… hmm…" She tilted her head to the side as she thought. It would work for the moment, and she didn't mind the sound either so if she got stuck with it she could live with it easily enough. "Somehow this seems like less of an issue than last time."

"Last time we were wading through dozens of suggestions for hours," Glenn said with a smile as he ran a hand through his mohawk. "This is different. We've had a few days to just let our opinions stew. Funny how that is, isn't it?" She nodded.

"Shall we make it official?" he asked, reaching for his tablet. He tapped the screen and started searching for something, probably the forms he needed to fill out.

"Corentine," she said again, letting the name linger on her lips. She glanced over to Inari. "Thoughts?"

"It sounds better than some names I've heard. Of course, I think Kei is prettier," she said before leaning closer, "but what would you expect from a Japanese spirit?" she asked quietly and Taylor had to nod. She should have expected that.

"Well I like it," she decided, "Corentine. I'm, Corentine now." It felt a bit weird calling herself by a different name.

"Shall I take that as a yes?" Glenn asked, stylus in his hand as he tapped at the screen.

"Yup. That's a yes," she agreed.

"Then give me a few minutes and I can have your paperwork touched up with the last few details and I can send you down to Security a bit early. Nice to finish up on time for once," he mused as he tapped out a staccato on the tablet.

Taylor found a seat at the table and reached over to scratch Inari behind the ear. The fox sighed and relaxed into her touch as they waited. "Corentine," Taylor repeated under her breath. That was her cape name. Strange, it didn't really sound like a cape name the more she thought about it. Most capes were fairly straightforward and picked the first word that came to mind, or at least it felt like it. The number of times she had heard of some kid calling themselves 'Invincible' or 'Juggernaut' or something edgy like 'Ice' on TV was silly, at least amongst the Independent Hero crowd, but then they didn't have to worry about copyright as much as the PRT did. After all, most Independents didn't try to do merchandising.

Five minutes later, and enough repetitions of her choice for it to start to lose meaning, she heard the printer on the conference table spin to life. Glenn plucked the pages that came out from the tray and stapled them together.

"Alright. Everything looks like it's in order, at least enough to keep the Security guys happy. I'll get the name filed after you leave, but this hard copy should be good enough for their records," he held it out to her and she took it, giving the first page a look over. Her eyes lingered at the top.

Name: Taylor Hebert

Age: 15

Gender: Female

Alias:

**Corentine**

-0-0-0-0-0-

The main security office in the PRT building was on the fourth floor, one level up from the Image offices. The entrance to the security office was an airlock created from a clear glass-like material reinforced by solid metal cross braces. Containment foam launchers were hanging from the ceiling on either side of the door and in the four corners of the elevator lobby. She was not, to her surprise, escorted through the airlock but instead to a small glass-enclosed room on the opposite side of the lobby. The PRT Trooper swiped his ID at the door and gestured for her to enter.

Inside was one of those large secretary desks behind which another man in a PRT field uniform without the helmet or bulky armour. He was humming and nodding his head along to something as he worked on his computer.

"Oi! Brandon!" the Trooper who let her in barked, "I've got actual work for you."

The Trooper, Brandon, jerked up and Taylor watched as a pen went flying. It sailed deeper into the room and disappeared through the open door at the back. Brandon looked back at it. "Shit," he cursed before looking up at the other Trooper. "Knock first you- as…" he trailed off as he spotted Taylor. She waved a hand and her tails politely.

"Um, hello?" she offered hesitantly.

"Hello," he waved back with one hand before returning to staring at the other trooper with an annoyed expression. "You could've messaged me that she was coming up early Jack," he complained.

"I did. Twice," Jack, the first trooper, said with a shake of his head. "You need to keep a better eye on your phone. Don't want the chief to keep you stuck to that desk, do you?"

"It's safer here," Brandon deadpanned, "No lunatics, no dragons, no fucking werewolves made of razor blades." It said something about Brockton Bay that Taylor couldn't find an argument. Really, it did.

"On half-pay."

"Pay I get to live to spend. Now buzz off before you give the cute little Ward the idea I'm a worthless layabout."

"Bit late for that," Jack chuckled before heading back out the door. A small red beanbag bounced off the glass door as it closed behind him.

"Prick," Brandon grumbled. Taylor eyed him for a moment before glancing down at Inari.

"Slacker," the Fox hissed softly, "and a coward." She'd noticed that already.

"So," Brandon clapped his hands and waved her forward. "You're the newbie for the Wards. Here to get your ID paperwork finished up?"

"Yeah," she said as she walked over to the counter. The counter was empty except for a little bell, a miniature hula girl, and a nameplate that read 'Brandon Chambers, Diligent Worker'. At a guess, she'd say it probably wasn't official. On the other hand…

"Chambers?" she asked.

"Hmm- oh, yeah, the nameplate," Brandon nodded, "You've probably just come from dealing with my Uncle, haven't you?"

"You Glenn Chambers' nephew? Does his entire family work for the PRT?" Taylor asked as she held out the folder with her paperwork in it.

"Eh," he shrugged as he took the folder and flipped it open. "There's a few of us," he said as he pulled out the papers. "So, Taylor Hebert, age fifteen… obviously a girl, and you've got an Alias." He glanced up, "To go with the magical girl costume I see. Nice to see my Uncle's weirdness hasn't gotten any less insane."

"Hey!" She glared at him. He shrugged unrepentantly

"Let's see, standard new Ward security clearance…" he mumbled, clearly ignoring her as he started typing on the computer. She huffed and crossed her arms. A few minutes later he looked up. "So how this is going to go is you're going to follow me into that room back there," he gestured to the door his pen had gone flying through earlier, "I'll take your fingerprints, scan your retinas into the system, and have you stand in the fancy tinker tech booth while I take your photo for the ID. After that, I'll take the data into the secure office and get the Security Chief to sign off. A few more checks will be run on the data and then I'll come out with your fancy new ID. Shouldn't take more than an hour."

"An hour," she sighed.

"Yup," he cheerfully grinned at her annoyed expression. "Aren't rigid security checks fun? Come on, this way." Humming an off-key tune she didn't recognize, but which was immediately grating to the ears, he stood up and walked over to the door at the back. Taylor followed.

"I'll wait out here," Inari announced, stealing one of the few chairs in the apparent waiting room.

"Traitor," Taylor grumbled as she followed Brandon into the back room. It was fairly small, less than half the size of the waiting area, with a black booth near the far side and a camera pointed at it. Stations were set up with what she assumed were for the fingerprints and retinal scans.

She gave the black box a sideways look as she stepped up to the fingerprint station. Something felt off.

The fingerprint and retinal scans proceeded painlessly, except for the constant off-key humming, and the four retries with the retinal scanner as it refused to work properly until she got frustrated and smacked it lightly with a fist. There were a few sparks on contact, but the retinal scanner worked properly after that. Things got a bit strange when she stepped into the hollow black box.

As she stepped into the box she felt a static-like sensation run over her. "Is it supposed to do that?" she asked, her ears twitching as she tried to squeeze her tails into the confined space. She frowned at the walls as she tried to identify what it was that was bugging her.

"Do what?" Brandon asked as he typed something on the computer. "I'm going to need you to look here." He tapped the camera.

She turned her attention from the box. "It feels like static," she said, running a hand through one of her tails, the hairs of which were beginning to stick up.

"Oh that," Brandon shrugged, "You aren't the first person to comment on that. Don't worry about it. Look here." She snapped her eyes back to the camera. "Three, two… one." The camera flashed and then the lights in the room went out. The feeling of static dissipated instantly and the scent of something burning acrid reached her nose as the lights came back on.

"Well fuck. Of course, it does this shit now," Brandon groaned, smacking the computer in front of him. "You can step out of there. Don't get into trouble, I'm going to go and call maintenance." He headed for the door, grumbling all the way. "...ucking tinkertech!" he cursed loudly as he left the room.

Taylor stepped out of the box and gave it a sidelong glance. The acrid smell was definitely coming from it. She sniffed the outside of the box. Yeah, it was definitely coming from the machine. Something had died inside.

She frowned. The static charge had disappeared, but the feeling of something wrong was still emanating from the machine. Her curiosity peaked, she looked it over for a hatch. None of the visible sides had any openings, but it was backed up against the wall. Digging her fingers into the minuscule gap, scrapping out bits of drywall like a chisel through sand in the process, she moved the machine. It turned away from the wall a foot and a half before cables running from the machine to the wall brought it to a halt.

Grumbling about the lack of space, but unwilling to do actual damage to the machine, she squeezed herself into the gap and took a look at the exposed backside of the machine. She frowned. A thin layer of dust covered everything.

"Haven't they heard of maintenance?" she muttered as she scanned the parts along the back of the machine. This close she could feel the wrongness more acutely. It came from three separate portions of the machine. One near the top, one near the bottom and another right… She laid a hand on an enclosed tubular structure welded to the machine. Fibre optic lines ran from it to a nearby stack of high-density hard drives. A thick power cord ran from the tube directly into the wall. There was no plug, just a power cord nearly as thick around as her fist and it ran straight into the wall. Black metal conduits ran from it to the top and bottom of the machine. They split apart to connect to a series of several dozen black spheres that were bolted to the black interior lining of the machine.

"What do you do?" she asked as she looked at the machine. It was a scanner, that much she was pretty sure of. There was the storage system… and that was the power… those spheres had to be the sensors themselves and the tube was… She tilted her head to the side as her analysis of the machine broke down a bit. She was struck by a very definitive feeling.

"Physics does not work like this," she muttered, her eyes narrowing as she went back over the machine. She was fairly sure that the machine was supposed to take a snapshot of the space inside itself at the quantum level and then work backwards from there to assemble an incredibly detailed image that would include everything from radio waves to gravitation anomalies. Oh, and an actual visual spectrum model of everything inside. Only…

She ran her hand along the fibre optic lines reading to the bulk storage and tapped the tube. There should have been two tubes right there, not one. What had they done to get this thing to work? Fingernails scraped away the welds and she carefully pried the tube loose from its moorings. From there she carefully dug a nail into the seam of the tubular device and pried it open.

Green eyes stared at the device's inner workings. "Is that aluminum bronze?" she muttered, pulling at the device with a finger. Sparks leaped from the coiled metal to her finger. She ignored the pleasant tingle as she sorted the parts inside, a feeling of increasing disbelief overtaking her as she disassembled it. "Is that silver?" She licked the component and made a face. "Lead-silver. Here? And that's tungsten? What is he- You can't use these materials for a job like this!" she muttered in disgust and dropped the adaptor to allow the technology of the sensors to integrate with standard hardware.

Feeling frustrated and disgusted she grabbed one of the sensor balls and ripped it from the bolts and conduit attached to it. Showers of sparks pattered off her ankles as she turned it over in her hand. She frowned. "Quantum lenses?" She licked it. "Why is this made out of Quartz? How do you even make- Physics doesn't work this way!"

"The evidence before you would suggest otherwise."

Reflexively tossing the expensive piece of tinkertech was probably not the best reaction to being startled. Tossing it at Armsmaster was probably worse. Watching it bounce off the Protectorate hero's helmet hard enough to rock him back a step was absolutely mortifying and as effective as a bucket of cold water for bringing oneself back to reality.

Taylor stared as a feeling of absolute mortification settled over her. "Oh god, are you alright?" she asked, her tails, previously lashing in frustration, had frozen as she stared at Armsmaster.

The older hero massaged his forehead through his helmet as he reached down and picked up the sensor. "I'm fine. Fortunately, I was wearing my helmet," he said as he looked over the sensor. "Hmmm, this is going to be expensive to repair."

Taylor blinked. "You built this?" she asked, some of her disgust returning. This thing was an abomination of bad logic and impossibility.

"Yes," he said, "And it was working fine until you decided to disassemble it."

A soft cough from beside him caused Taylor to blink as she realized that the trooper Brandon was standing there. "Ah, it had died again before she got into it. That's why I called," he reminded.

"And yet the damage has undoubtedly been made worse-"

"Worse? You're using quartz for a Quantum Lense!" Taylor spluttered.

"And how are you an expert in quantum mechanics suddenly? I don't remember that from your test results," Armsmaster replied with a frown.

"I-" Taylor paused as what she was doing finally caught up with her conscious mind. She turned back to the box. She squinted at the machine in confusion. Looking at it again the clarity she had been feeling was gone and while she could remember, if hazily, what she had discovered from her examination, more refused to come to her. It was like someone suddenly finding themselves illiterate.

"Miss Hebert, if you could please step away from the machine," Armsmaster requested.

Taylor barely registered the request as she tried to puzzle out the situation. She had understood the machine, had been able to peel it apart and understand its secrets with a glance and now… The conduits ran there and the sensors were there and there and… and… Those weren't supposed to be quartz…

"He should have used- aaaaaaah!" She started to mumble before a stab of pain, sharp as a knife, stabbed through her head. She stumbled as she cried out and fell away from the machine. Something cold and hard caught her before she hit the ground. She whimpered, her eyes screwed shut from the pulsing shots of agony running like Olympic sprinters from temple to temple. She clutched her head unable to do much else.

"Miss Hebert, are you alright?" She flinched and another small cry escaped her as she just barely registered Armsmaster's voice.

"H-head," she ground out between shots of pain. She tried to open her eyes and whimpered at the suddenly harsh light, but managed to make out the metal arms of Armsmaster's suit. She shuddered and flinched as a new surge of pain blazed through her temples. The suit felt wrong, and she was suddenly aware of how close it was to her. She shut her eyes and tried to ignore that nagging feeling again as she whimpered.

Words she couldn't follow in her state were said before she was lifted up and handed off to another. Their arms felt warmer and, well, not wrong. She cracked an eyelid as she felt them begin to carry her away. It was the security guard Brandon. There was a far more serious look on his face than she had expected from the short minutes she had spent there.

A new surge of pain stabbed through her eyes from the light and she shut them again with a whimper. The world faded as she tried to ignore the pain and she soon lost track of time.

-0-0-0-0-0-

It was a while later when Taylor was finally cognizant enough through a slowly fading haze of pain to open her eyes. She hissed at the bright light closed them again as she slowly became aware of a quiet "Beep. Beep. Beep." coming from somewhere beside her. Each soft chirp of noise sent a minor stab of pain through her skull. Nervously Taylor opened her eyes slowly once again. She hissed at the pain that spiked through her head, but after a moment the world swam into clear view.

She was laying atop the sheets of a white steel-framed bed. She turned her head and noted the blue curtains surrounding the bed. The beeping was coming from a bank of monitors and plain tan boxes with lights.

With a sigh, she let her head fall back onto the pillow. "Hospital room," she croaked, wincing at her own voice. God her head hurt. It was like an ice pick going through her eyes every few seconds just from looking around.

"Oh, you're up." She winced at the familiar voice of Inari from just above her head.

"Vaguely?" She wiggled a hand as she closed her eyes again. "My head is killing me."

"So I've gathered," Inari said softly, "They said you were tampering with a piece of tinker tech when you collapsed?"

"Mrrg, sorta?" Taylor groaned as she buried her head. "It was going fine until Armsmaster interrupted. Then everything stopped making sense." Despite the pain she could remember that much at least.

"Hmm, interesting. You know industrial domains often include a tech component," Inari said lightly. Taylor felt the far side of the pillow shift.

It took a few moments for Taylor to process what the fox had said. She rolled part of the way onto her side and looked up with one eye at the white fox. "... You said something about an industrial domain way back," she said. The words came slowly through the haze of pain.

"Agriculture, Foxes, Fertility, and Industry, those were the domains I gifted you," Inari recited from memory.

Taylor closed her eyes again and lay her head back down, curling her tails around her as she did so. The comforting warmth of her furred limbs was wonderful. "What do domains have to do with my head feeling like I invited Smaug over for a visit?" She asked.

"In this case? Possibly everything," her advisor whispered, "What led you to poke the tinker tech?"

"It felt wrong," she replied with a wince, "I could feel the tinker tech in it and it felt wrong and when I went to look at it everything just…"

"Started making sense?" Inari finished.

"Yeah…"

"Mhmm, that sounds like a technology type domain. And, if you'll let me guess, it all stopped making sense at some point?" The fox asked.

"Armsmaster interrupted me," Taylor whispered.

"Ah," Inari slipped off the pillow and curled up next to her, cuddling into her side. One hand jerkily reached down and started petting Inari behind the ears. "I had planned on having this conversation after we were done with your portals lessons, but it seems my lesson plans keep falling apart."

Taylor snorted and winced. "Ow ow ow…"

Inari patted her gently on the side of the head. "Shhhh, relax, relax. Just lay and listen to me, okay?" Taylor nodded slightly, winced, and then lay still. "Good girl. Domains are tricky things. I'm sure you've noticed that by now and all you've done is handle your own natural domains. Inherited domains are difficult for different reasons than natural ones. A natural domain is weak until you align yourself with its concepts properly. A Goddess of the night might be entranced by the stars or prone to sparkling at odd moments."

"Sparkling?"

"Yes, sparkling. Remind me to tell you about Tsukuyomi and Nyx sometime. Moving on," Inari shuffled the conversation back onto topic, "A god of fire might have a fascination with fire or an affinity for controlling it through non-domain methods. These are but a few of the more obvious indicators of a God's domains. You are hardly the stormy sort of personality I'd have expected from either storms or seas, but you come from a seaside city. Origin counts for a lot with gods."

Inari shifted and leaned against her. "Inherited domains are different. They have power borne from those who first birthed them. Because of this, they are in a state of partial awakening from the moment the inheritor receives them."

"The tails…" Taylor sighed, opened her eyes slowly to look at the tail that she was hugging.

"You're more closely in line with the Foxes domain than the other three, but even the fertility one has had an effect so far. And I don't know if you've noticed, but the grass and plants around your house have been growing bigger and brighter these last few weeks," the white fox said. Taylor hadn't been paying attention to the plants, but then again she had somehow failed to pay attention to herself either. Paying attention to plants was probably a step too far for her in her humble opinion.

"I'll take your word for it," she mumbled.

"Inheriting a domain has drawbacks because of this half-awakened state," Inari continued, "You're currently experiencing one of them. Your industrial domain seems to grant you a degree of innate understanding when it comes to technology, but only when you are aligned with it. When Armsmaster distracted you whatever mindset had allowed you to draw on it more deeply was broken and when you reached instinctively for the domain… Well, trying to tap into a domain while being misaligned with it has consequences, as I'm sure you've noticed."

That was, in Taylor's polite opinion, one way of describing having your own abilities take an ice pick to your skull like an angry sober dwarf. "I see," she simply said instead. She gently tilted her head down towards Inari. "And how, exactly, do I fix this?"

"The same way you awaken a normal domain," Inari replied, "Only, expect a bigger reaction than your natural ones. Your natural domains weren't active to begin with. These ones? They'll run wild during an awakening, which is why the Gods would normally take you out somewhere quiet with nothing important you could break and let you run it out of your system. Another world or an out of the way corner of the Celestial Realm."

Joy. In the depths of her foggy mind, she vowed to leave the agriculture domain alone. The last thing she wanted was to blackout and wake up to half of Brockton Bay plowed under and converted into strawberry patches… though she could go for a- no, bad Taylor. That was how Goddesses gained a bad reputation. It starts with a criminal warehouse and ends in a juicy delicious apocalypse…

With her skull-splitting headache, she was having a hard time convincing herself that would be a bad thing.

"So, I need to work out portals then?" She asked instead of questioning where the nearest criminal hideout was. Not that Inari likely knew that.

"Ideally, yes. Unless you'd like to plant Yggdrasil Junior in the docks district?" Taylor rolled her eyes at the sarcastic question and winced as she accidentally caught an eyeful of the fluorescent light that straddled the dividing curtain.

"No thanks," she said as she buried her face in the pillow and hugged her tails and Inari.

Inari squeaked in surprise. "Well- I think we're done for now. Let's wait until they send someone to check on you," she said, "Get some sleep."

"How long was I out?" Taylor asked.

"Only an hour or so, quite short given what you did. Get some sleep, it'll help I promise." Inari said, nuzzling her.

A few minutes later Taylor was once again out cold, this time in a far more pleasant state of unconsciousness.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Sometime later the rustle of curtains woke Taylor and she raised her head to look for the source. A black man in a white lab coat was pulling back the curtain. He paused as he saw her lift her head. "Ah," he said softly, "Miss Hebert. You're awake." He closed the curtain behind him and walked around to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

She blinked slowly and took stock. Her head was killing her, but was substantially improved from earlier. She licked her lips. "My head hurts and I could use a drink?" she said hesitantly, "Who are you?"

"Doctor Jeremiah Jackstan, Head of Medical here at PRT ENE," he said, bowing slightly to her. "Nice to meet you, Miss Hebert. I wish it was under the expected circumstances."

"... So do I," she replied with a wave of a hand and tail even as she lay back down. "How long was I out?"

"Nearly two hours," Dr. Jeremiah said with a sigh, "Unfortunately this is probably going to skew the results of today's medical examination, but it should provide a baseline in case you get these headaches again."

"Hopefully not," Taylor grumbled as she prodded Inari awake and sat up. She looked down and blinked at her outfit before internally shaking her head. Of course, she was still wearing her new uniform. She had been out for two hours, not two weeks.

"I'll go and get a glass of water and let Mrs. Dallon and the others know you're awake," he said.

"Mrs. Dallon?" Taylor repeated, tugging off her gloves. Her hands were feeling a bit clammy after wearing them for hours. She tossed them onto her pillow and stretched her arms with a sigh. That felt better.

"Yes, she was going to be here for your appointment since Panacea will be taking a look after all," the doctor replied before ducking back out through the curtain.

Taylor sighed and massaged her forehead. The pain was still sharp, but it was no longer surging every few seconds. She couldn't even remember the last time she had a headache that didn't come from smacking her head on something. She snorted. From a certain point of view, this one had come from smacking her head into the only thing harder than it now, her own powers.

Inari stirred, blinked up at her, then rolled over and passed out again, her snout buried beneath Taylor's pillow. Taylor rolled her eyes at her advisor's antics and stretched as she gave her uniform a look over. There were a few scorched spots across the bodice and the stockings. Thinking back those had probably come from the electricity jumping from the machine to her. Other than those imperfections the uniform was still perfectly fine. No chafing, or scratching, or anything else.

Not that taking a nap was much of a test.

Her ears twitched and she looked back out the hole the doctor had left open in the curtains. Her tails swayed. She could hear something… moving quickly? And getting a lot closer. Her fuzzy brain, still wracked as it was by pain, failed to put the pieces before a blonde and white missile zipped through the curtain opening and tackled her out of the bed in a flying hug.

"Taaaaaaaaylooooor! Areyouokay?" Taylor blinked as the world spun and she instinctively started floating as she was carried five feet up and through the other curtain, leaving a tear in the fabric.

"Vicky?" She asked dully as her headache thundered to the forefront again. As the world stopped moving and she was able to fix her eyes on the blonde hugging her hard enough that she was starting to feel it as more than a light force.

"Yup. You okay?" The blonde hurricane she was slowly getting used to calling a friend asked.

"Ow my head?" She offered, pushing out of Vicky's hug to rub her head again. Her friend had the decency to blush.

"Oh, whoops. Sorry Tay," she apologized as the sound of footsteps reached Taylor's ears.

"You're here with your mom right?" Taylor asked as she floated back to the ground.

"Yup and sis- Oh, um…" Vicky shot a nervous look back at the torn curtain. She blushed harder, earning a pained snort of amusement from Taylor. Served Vicky right to tackle her out of bed while she was suffering the worst headache she had ever had.

The footsteps reached the other curtained-off bed. A moment later Taylor winced as Mrs. Dallon shouted, "VICTORIA!"

"Ow ow ow," Taylor whined as she walked through the torn curtain and back to her bed. Mrs. Dallon winced herself.

"Oh, sorry Taylor," she said softly, though she immediately shifted her attention back to Vicky as the blonde sheepishly floated back through the hole she had punched. "You do not go rocketing off through a medical ward young lady!"

As Carol Dallon proceeded to softly reprimand her daughter Taylor turned her attention to the rest of the people who had entered the now rather full area around her bed. The doctor nodded to her from where he stood beside Mrs. Dallon. Beside him was a girl about her age. Short with frizzy brown curls for hair and dense freckles across most of her face. If Taylor had to pick a word to describe her it would be mousy, though the frown she had definitely ruined the effect. She had to be Amy Dallon, also known as Panacea, Vicky's sister and the best parahuman healer in the world. Allegedly at least.

"Miss Hebert," Dr. Jeremiah slipped between Panacea and Mrs. Dallon with a cup of water and a small paper condiment cup like those you see people use for ketchup. "Here, drink these." Taylor accepted them both and glanced down at the paper cup. A small white capsule sat next to a blue one in the cup.

"These are...?" she asked.

"Tylenol and aspirin. A good baseline to start with. Let me know if they don't have any effect in an hour," he said. She nodded and drank them down as she sat back onto the bed.

"And that is why we will be having a further discussion later, Victoria," Mrs. Dallon finished, leaving her blushing daughter as she turned to Taylor. "How are you feeling Taylor?"

"Better than earlier," she replied as she wrapped her tails about her. "Still feels like I've got a bunch of picks getting jabbed into my skull whenever I do too much." She glanced at Vicky.

"Sorry," came the sheepish response as Vicky looked down at the floor and scuffed a shoe against the tile, chipping the floor with the first strike. She stopped after that.

"They said you tried to take a look at some tinker tech. Please tell me you didn't do something that foolish?" Mrs. Dallon asked. Taylor felt her cheeks heat up.

"I- let my curiosity get the better of me, and it was going well until Armsmaster interrupted me," she muttered the last bit as she sipped the water.

"If I may, Mrs. Dallon," Dr. Jeremiah said, getting their attention, "Based on all reports she appears to have suffered a very sudden thinker headache. Though she has recovered significantly faster than most I've heard of."

Mrs. Dallon nodded. "Well, I'm merely her lawyer, not her mother. That said, please don't go poking strange technology when you aren't sure what it does Taylor," she requested.

Taylor's blush deepened. "I- I'll try not to? I just wish I knew why tinker tech feels so wrong to me," she said with a frown.

"Wrong?" the doctor asked, withdrawing a notepad and pen from his coat. "In what way?"

"Just… wrong? Like reality isn't working right or something. It's hard to find the words," Taylor replied. It was probably more a case that English wasn't designed to convey the concepts she was feeling. Being around tinker tech was like listening to a pair of gears locked against each other, grinding as they tried to force the other to turn their way, and yet still somehow both continuing on their way despite the impossibility of it.

"I see," he made a note, "I'll pass that on to those more knowledgeable in such fields than I. For now, why don't we get to work on this examination?"

"Yes, let's get this done so that Taylor can get back to resting again," Mrs. Dallon agreed.

"Does this mean I need to get up again?" Taylor asked with a sigh, rubbing her forehead at the thought.

"Well, as a start why don't we begin with Panacea's examination?" The doctor suggested. "If there's nothing serious from her incident earlier we can proceed normally."

Taylor gave the brunette girl a sideways glance. She still looked grumpy. "Are you expecting issues?" she asked the doctor as she watched Panacea. For being Vicky's sister she couldn't have been more different just from a cursory glance.

"No, but better to be sure," he said with a smile, "Your father has signed off on the papers for Ms. Dallon to take a look so if you would hold out your hand we can get started." Taylor turned to Panacea as the mousy-haired girl in the white and red robes stepped around the doctor

"Taylor, this is my sister, Amy," Vicky said.

"Yeah, I'd figured that out," Taylor replied, giving Amy the best smile she could with her head still pounding. She ignored how Mrs. Dallon ordered Vicky to be quiet. "Hey, I'm Taylor. Nice to meet you," she said, holding out her now empty left hand.

"Do I have your permission to touch you?" Amy asked, halfway holding out her own hand.

"Didn't the doctor just say my dad signed off?" Taylor asked, glancing at the doctor who shrugged.

"I prefer getting a verbal confirmation beforehand," Amy said, reaching out to take her hand. "Hello, as my sister said," she clasped Taylor's hand tightly, "I'm Am..y…" Taylor blinked as Amy trailed off and went still.

"Ummm…?" Taylor looked over to Mrs. Dallon and Vicky who were both looking confused. "Is that normal?" The hand gripping her own tightened its grip further. She gave a light tug on her hand. It was like Amy's hand had been replaced by a vice.

"Not a bit," Vicky said, floating over. She waved a hand in front of Amy's face, which had gone strangely blank. "Hey! HEY! AMES! Anyone home? Heeelloooo?" She waved her hand a few more times. "She's completely zoned out. Why don't you let go Tay?"

"I would," Taylor said, trying to do just that without success, "But I'm getting worried if I use any more of my strength I'm going to break something." She tugged at the fingers that were gripping her hand and wrist so tightly that they had gone white. She managed to peel one finger away, but when she went for the next it snapped back like a bear trap. "Help?" She asked.

"Perhaps a tranquillizer?" Dr. Jeremiah suggested.

"Amy is immune to tranquillizers doctor," Mrs. Dallon reminded him.

He sighed. "Yes, of course. I forgot."

"I'll get her hand open," Vicky sighed reaching for her sister's hand, "Sorry if this hurts Ames." As Vicky's hand closed over Amy's and Taylor's several things happened simultaneously. There was a snap-crackle and the sudden scent of burning ozone filled the room as electricity discharged abruptly from Taylor, Amy let go with a cry of pain, and all three of them were sent flying back from each other with enough force to knock all of them over.

Taylor was flipped back across the bed into the medical equipment. The constant beeping ended in a flat final tone as she crumpled part of the equipment and sent the rest to the ground. Amy was caught by the doctor before she hit the floor and Vicky went flying back through the curtain, punching yet another hole through it.

"What was that?" Taylor asked as she pulled herself out of the wreckage of the medical machines. She shook her head and blinked. Her headache was gone. Her brain still felt a bit fuzzy, but the pain had just up and left. "Huh, that's odd…" she muttered.

"That's what I'd like to know," Vicky said, floating back through the curtains. Her hair was frazzled and poofy and looking like it belonged in the eighties. She spotted Amy struggling upright in the arms of the doctor and immediately zipped over to her. "Ames! Please be alright!" She begged.

"I'm… fine I think?" Amy said slowly. Taylor pulled herself upright after disentangling one of her tails from the heap of steel, plastic, and miscellaneous cabling. The other Dallon sister looked rather disoriented in Taylor's opinion. "Did something happen?" She asked, earning stares from the rest of the group. "What?"

Taylor's ear twitched as she heard a bang across the room. "DOCTOR JACKSTAN!" A voice shouted as boots pounded the hallway outside the curtains.

"IN HERE!" Dr. Jeremiah shouted back before turning back to Amy. "There appears to have been an odd interaction between your powers and Miss Hebert's."

"Oh," Amy winced and pulled herself up, rubbing her forehead. "That would explain why my head is killing me."

"I gave you my headache?" Taylor said incredulously. Everyone turned to her and she blushed. "My head stopped hurting just now."

Vicky started snickering. Taylor pouted at her as Amy just gave her sister a death glare. "You blew us up, just to get rid of your headache?" Vicky started laughing, clutching her stomach as she rolled over in mid-air.

Mrs. Dallon sighed. "Well, perhaps examining Miss Hebert while she has a headache is another thing that should be put on the list of things we don't do around her," she suggested.

"There's a list?" Taylor asked. She hadn't done that much before. Before anyone could respond, and no Vicky laughing even harder wasn't a response, two PRT Troopers and a nurse came charging through the 'door'. One of the guards caught his foot on a bit of loose steel piping and went down as it went out from under him.

Inari peered down at him as everyone stared. "Perhaps we should leave this place? It seems cursed," she suggested. Taylor just nodded her agreement as the PRT Trooper groaned.

Vicky continued laughing her ass off even after Taylor swatted her with a tail.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Ten minutes and several explanations later, Taylor was sitting in a proper examination room along with the three Dallons and Dr. Jeremiah. Amy was sitting in a corner wrapped in a blanket with a glass of water and her head covered by her hood that did nothing to conceal the occasional groan that she emitted. Whenever she did Taylor winced. She really hoped she hadn't given the other girl her headache, but at this point, she'd be the first to admit anything was possible.

"So, we've learned a valuable lesson," the doctor began as he rifled through a cabinet.

"That we should start with the traditional check-up first?" Inari suggested.

"That Ms. Hebert and Ms. Dallon's powers are incompatible," Dr. Jeremiah corrected as he fished out an otoscope pen and the disposable sleeves for it. He glanced over to the corner where Amy was sulking. "Are you sure you can't remember anything?" he asked.

Amy's hood shifted and she peered out from under it with a scowl. "Positive," she said softly before retreating back into its shade.

"Unfortunate. Mrs. Dallon, I don't believe we require Amy any further today. It may be best if you take her home," he said.

Mrs. Dallon nodded. "It would be for the best, however, I did promise Taylor's father to keep an eye on her during this…" She paused and glanced to Vicky who was hovering around her sister like she was about to shatter into tiny pieces at the slightest touch. "Vicky."

Vicky looked up. "Yeah, mom?"

"Please stay and keep an eye on Taylor until she heads for home, then come straight home," Mrs. Dallon said.

"I- Okay," Vicky nodded.

"You don't need to do that Mrs. Dallon," Taylor said, shaking her head. She stopped as a dizzy spell hit her briefly.

"Your father asked me to. Since I cannot Victoria will have to do so instead," Mrs. Dallon said as she walked over to Amy. "Come on dear, let's get you home."

"Thank you Mrs. Dallon," Taylor said as they walked past, "And I'm so sorry Amy." The headache afflicted girl waved a hand and grumbled something that earned a sigh from her mother.

"Get better Ames!" Vicky waved after her, "I'll be home when we're done with this." As soon the door shut on them Vicky sighed and floated behind Taylor. "This could have gone better."

"It could have also gone much worse," Dr. Jeremiah said as he walked over with the otoscope. "If you wouldn't mind looking down Ms. Hebert, I can get to work."

It had been a very long time since her last complete physical, but even then the feeling of a cold probe going into the top of her head was just bizarre. The rest of the physical was just as strange and embarrassing.

An hour and fifteen minutes later she and Vicky stepped out, though Vicky was floating, of the PRT's medical ward. "I wonder what he wants with clippings from your tail?" Vicky wondered aloud as she floated along beside her.

"Don't know. Don't care. Ugh," Taylor grumbled, "I do not remember physicals being that bad."

"The PRT insists on being extra thorough, especially when they don't know for sure the person's biology. Can I just say that gold blood is weird by the way," Vicky replied, "So where to next?"

"The doctor said to head back up to security, so let's head there," Taylor said as she watched Vicky pet Inari behind the ears. The former Goddess was content to be carried by the blonde who had no issues with petting something she found adorable. It was, Taylor thought as they descended the elevator, amazing how improved someone's opinion of someone else could be when they didn't have to share a house.

That said, she was perfectly happy to let Vicky carry the foxy menace if she wanted to.

As they got off the elevator on the fourth floor they found an interesting sight awaiting them. The door for the secondary security office was smashed and the remains were being vacuumed off the tiles by a bored-looking custodian. Behind him, Taylor spotted that Brandon, the security guard from earlier, was back working at the desk.

"Come on. Let's see what they want," Taylor sighed. She floated over the spread of glass shards and over to the counter. "Hey."

Brandon looked up from whatever it was he was doing on the computer and grinned. "Ah, the fluffy menace returns," he said cheerfully.

Taylor scowled. "Who are you calling a menace!" She wouldn't deny the fluffy, but she was not a menace. Her tails bristled as she glared at the unphased security officer.

"My poor door didn't explode without help," he replied, still grinning as he waved at the door. "One of those fluffy steel rods you call tails took it out when I was carrying you through."

Taylor cast a look back at the door and blushed at the look the custodian was giving her. "Oh, um…"

Brandon chuckled. "Yeah, don't worry about it. Actually, do. It's probably coming out of your pay." Taylor gave him a look. Would they really do that?

"You're an ass," Vicky said, scowling at the security guard.

"So I'm told. Here," he set an envelope down on the counter. "Here. Your ID, security briefing, and a temporary access pass to the tinker labs here on base."

"Access pass?" Taylor asked quizzically as she accepted the envelope and opened it. She fished out her ID, a rectangular plastic card with her face and information on it. There was another rectangular plastic card, this time in bright yellow as opposed to the white of her ID, and a thick booklet.

"Yeah, Armsmaster wants you to head down and speak with him. Uh, that's a pass for you only by the way. No tag along," Brandon said, pointing at Vicky who pouted. "And make sure you read the security briefing. There'll be a test on it sometime next week. You'll be informed of the day before and required to appear, so I'd get to reading as soon as you can." Taylor stared at him with horror. The day before? Next week? It wasn't exactly a thin booklet, really it was more of a book than a booklet.

"He's joking. Wards aren't tested until after a month," Vicky said, scowling at the guard.

"Ruin my fun girly, get out of here. And remember, that pass to the labs is only for you. Cheers," He rudely waved them off and turned his attention back to his monitor.

"Come on," Vicky adjusted her grip on Inari, hooked a newly freed arm around Taylor's and dragged her off, taking flight as she did, an act that forced Taylor to take to the air to avoid being pulled off her feet.

"Hey!" She protested as Vicky dragged her over to the elevators.

"That guy is an ass," Vicky growled as she floated by the button. "How does he still have a job?"

"I think he's already on probation or something," Taylor said, thinking back to the other PRT Trooper who had escorted her to the security office in the first place.

"Joy," her friend deadpanned. Silence descended while they waited for the elevator to arrive and the door to open. When it did it was, thankfully, empty. Vicky hit the button for the third floor.

"Third?" Taylor blinked.

"I'm going to the wards common room to wait for you," Vicky said.

"In that case, I'm getting off here," Inari declared, wriggling out of Vicky's arms.

"Aww," the blonde pouted.

"Weren't you supposed to go home after the medical appointment?" Taylor asked as Inari found a place by her feet.

"Nope~ I'm supposed to keep an eye on you until you go home," Vicky chirped, crossing her arms and smirking at her. "I," she pointed to herself, "am supposed to lurk until you head for home."

"Oh, except you can't follow me to the labs," Taylor said.

"Nope, so I'm going to go wait." The elevator dinged as it arrived on the third floor. "You have fun Tay~" Vicky waved as she floated out of the elevator, nearly running over a harried-looking PR employee as she did so.

Taylor sighed and hit the button for the labs. The doors slid shut and the elevator lurched back into motion, heading for the floor below the parkade.

"You know, I'm surprised she hasn't commented on your outfit," Inari said. Taylor snorted as she pulled the ID's lanyard over her neck and fished out the temporary pass out. She used the convenient clip to attach it next to her ID on the lanyard.

"So am I," she confessed. Somehow Vicky had gone the entire hour and a bit without commenting.

"I mean, she was the one who teased you about wearing something just like this," Inari continued.

"I know."

"And she's not normally this restrained."

"We've only known her for a few days Inari. You don't know that," she reminded her advisor who huffed.

"... She tackle-hugged you out of your bed despite you having a headache," Inari pointed out. Taylor elected to ignore her advisor as the doors opened and she stepped out into the entry hall of a security checkpoint.

Metal detectors and x-ray machines stood in both the in and outbound lanes while fully armed PRT Troopers not only manned the counters but stood in the corners with containment foam launchers at the ready. Above their heads were more sprayers mounted on swivel turrets that tracked her the moment she stepped off the elevator. And who knew what else might be hidden in the walls or floors.

She followed the convenient signs and walked up to the inbound security lane. "Hello?" She said hesitantly to the Trooper manning the counter. "I was told Armsmaster wanted to see me." His impassive black reflective helmet looked back at her. She had no idea what he was thinking and for a moment she understood what Glenn had said about trust. You couldn't see the person behind the mask, you couldn't guess what they were thinking.

"You're the new Ward, right?" He asked. She nodded. "Right, ID." He held out his hand and removed it from around her neck and handed it over. He scanned it through and then the temporary pass. "Okay, you are cleared for access today only. Make sure you return the pass to where you got it once you're done up here, alright?" She nodded. "Good kid. Anything metal on you?"

She glanced down at the decorations on her uniform. "Uuuh, maybe?" She tapped the large star on her chest. "I have no idea what these are made from."

He nodded and set a plastic tub down on the counter. "Put the envelope in here along with anything metal that you can easily remove. Like those gloves," he said, gesturing to her arms. She obeyed and deposited the items into the tub which went into the x-ray machine. "Head on through."

Unsurprisingly the metal detectors went off and she was waved to a stop by the Trooper on the other side. He unhooked a spindly looking device that unfolded into a startling array of thin metal sticks. There was something odd about it, something… wrong.

"That's tinker tech isn't it?" Taylor asked.

"Can't say," the PRT Trooper chuckled as he turned it on and waved it over her. He stopped and suddenly tapped it on the side. When that failed to do anything he gave it a whack. "Shit. Davies, get over here and use yours. This one just died." The trooper on the outbound lane ducked under the rope barrier and pulled out his own tinker tech device. He waved it over her and stopped after a moment.

"The hell? This one just died as well," Davies said, giving his a hard whack.

"Um?" Taylor looked between the two of them. "Is this normal?" She asked.

"Not really, no," the first one said. He reached for his radio. "Console, this is checkpoint seventeen A. We've got a serial failure of our tinker tech scanning devices. Can you get Armsmaster over here?"

The radio crackled. "Understood checkpoint seventeen A. You said a serial failure?" The woman's voice on the other end of the radio asked.

"That is correct. Serial failure of two Rohanson scanners," the Trooper confirmed.

"Understood. Armsmaster is on his way," the woman on the other end said.

It was a boring few minutes as they waited for the hero to show. Eventually, the armoured form of Armsmaster came walking around the corner, his halberd strapped to his back. "Console said you were having an issue with your scanners," He said, addressing the lead agent on arrival.

"Multiple scanners have died sir," the lead agent replied, handing over his scanning device. Armsmaster turned it over with a frown.

"Interesting," he withdrew a screwdriver from a hidden compartment on his armour and opened up the back. After a few minutes of poking around inside it, he looked up at Taylor. "This matches what happened to that other scanner down in security," he said, closing it back up. "Turn them in and get new ones. For the moment avoid using them on Ms. Hebert. It would appear her presence has a detrimental effect on tinker tech devices."

Taylor blushed as multiple black faceplates turned to her. "Sorry?" she offered with a helpless shrug.

"Yes sir… and you want us to let her into a laboratory filled with delicate tinker tech equipment?" The agent's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Her presence has only had a noticeable deleterious effect on active scanning devices. She will not be near any during her short visit. Now finish processing her," he ordered. The agent nodded reluctantly.

"As you wish. Hand over her ID and things," he ordered the Trooper behind the counter.

Feeling mortally embarrassed Taylor accepted them from the chuckling Trooper behind the counter without comment and promptly followed Armsmaster when he waved for her to follow.

The laboratories on the sixth floor were few, this was the PRT's downtown HQ after all, and those it had were of a lower security rating than those on the monolithic Rig in the harbour. All except two at the end of the last hallway. One was marked as being for the use of 'Kid Win' while the other was labelled as for 'Armsmaster'. The large double steel doors slid open when Armsmaster scanned his ID and let them both in. She followed, jumping as the doors slammed shut, just barely avoiding the tips of her tails.

The laboratory inside was large, spacious, and full of equipment that made her skin crawl. "Um, what is this about?" She asked as Armsmaster set his halberd down on a table.

"I have questions about earlier," he said as he took a seat at a console and tapped on the black screen. It sprang to life and he pulled up a word processor with a trio of rapid taps.

"Go ahead?" She had no idea what else to say as she looked around for another seat. To her surprise there didn't appear to be a second chair. Probably as a way of keeping people from lolling around and disturbing him while he was working.

"Earlier you started disassembling the tinker tech scanning device utilized as a tertiary system by the security department for issuing IDs. Can you explain why?" he asked.

Taylor leaned against the wall since there didn't seem to be a place to sit. "Well… I guess my curiosity got away from me?"

"Why? Your doctor's report says that you can feel tinker tech as a… 'wrongness'. Could you elaborate?" Armsmaster asked, his head glued to the screen as he typed in what had to be notes.

"I… it's like I'm feeling something scraping against my brain. Like… Like two gears that are constantly grinding against each other but somehow they're turning instead of locking up, despite the fact they shouldn't be able to," she said, frustration bleeding into her voice as she eyed the array of machines in the room that gave off that same sensation.

"I see… You said something about using Quartz. How much could you recognize of the machine? How much do you know about how it functions?" He asked.

"Uh…" Her ear twitched as she thought about it. "Some of it? I mean, the hard drives were obvious, but it took me a bit to realize that you were using coherent plasma at modulated frequencies to carry immense amounts of information down those conduits before translating that information into something a normal hard drive can store… Which," she paused as she wracked her hazy memories of the device, "should have caused it to explode because iron piping does not handle temperatures that high without melting. That thing should have exploded and set half the floor on fire the moment it was turned on."

"And yet a precisely modulated bombardment of positrons can create a coating that allows it to withstand such temperatures. It is a rather expensive and time-consuming process, however." Armsmaster countered. She stared at him. She was ninety percent certain, despite her hazy and nebulous connection to her industry domain, that physics did not work that way.

"I don't think physics works that way," she stated, quite bluntly.

"And yet, they do," Armsmaster countered.

"But only when a tinker made machine does it," she countered. The tinker turned from his computer with a frown. They stared at each other for a few moments that felt much longer to Taylor as she nervously matched his gaze. He opened his mouth, and then sparks started flying from one of the machines in the laboratory.

He spun in his chair and practically lunged across the room to slap a button on the machine. Taylor leaned to the side to get a better look at the device around another bulky piece of laboratory equipment. It was long, with some sort of plexiglass covering over a containment area. Through it, she could see a gold and sea-green shaft of something.

"Um…?" She hesitated. He pointed to the door as he fiddled with the controls.

"Thank you for answering the questions. Leave now," he said calmly even as more sparks started flying.

"Okay, let's go Inari," Taylor said, clapping her hands as she hastily obeyed the Tinker. The door slid open as she slapped the controls and she hastily hurried out into the hall, Inari at her heels. As the doors slid shut behind her she paused to look back at them. She caught a glimpse of Armsmaster heaving something out of sight.

"That was weird," she sighed, looking down at Inari. "Did you?"

"Not me. But it might have been you," Inari said with a tilt of her head. "Tinker tech doesn't appear to like you, which is… interesting."

She scowled. "That's like saying nearly getting blown up is 'exciting'."

"Well, it would be," Inari pointed out.

Taylor groaned. "Let's… let's just leave. Before the walls start exploding into taffy or something else silly," she said, putting words to action and heading back towards the checkpoint and the lifts.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Fifteen minutes, one checkpoint and one very annoying security guard later, Taylor opened the door to the boardroom turned PR office. Glenn and a number of his assistants were gathered around his tablet on the center table. Most of them looked up as the door swung shut.

"... When I asked you to test it I didn't mean torch it," Glenn said dryly as several of his assistants swarmed her, tittering about the damage to her uniform.

"There was electricity involved," she sighed. He nodded.

"So I heard. You've caused a bit of chaos over the last few hours," he sighed before chuckling. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired and a bit fuzzy," she admitted after a moment.

"Don't you mean fluffy?" Asked one of the assistants who immediately turned red as Glenn and Taylor both glanced her way. "Sorry."

"You're lucky. From what I've seen thinker headaches tend to be a lot worse," Glenn said. She nodded. She had heard much the same from the doctor, and the complaints from Amy. "So I assume you'd like me to arrange for your ride home, seeing as all of your appointments are over and done with."

"Actually," Taylor interrupted, brushing a lock of hair back over an ear that no longer existed. Her fingers twitched as they failed to find her old ears. "Actually, I was hoping to see if any of the other wards were still in the Wards common room?"

"Oh?"

"I ran into Gallant earlier, he said that Vista and Clockblocker were in the common room… and Vicky said she'd head over there to wait," she explained, earning a nod from Glenn.

"Let's see…" Glenn glanced at his tablet and nodded. "Yeah. Your father wanted you home for six, but I think I can give you an hour or two before you'll need to get ready. Do you have your ID on you?"

She held up the ID hanging from the lanyard around her neck. Glenn tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at it. "What?" She asked at the odd look that came across his face.

"Pockets." He snapped his fingers and pointed at her. Off to the side Marcy groaned. "We forgot pockets," he said with a grimace, "Well that's going to be fun to fix. Marcy-"

"Yes, I know," she sighed loudly, "Put pockets into the skintight armour-plated bodice, or find a way to hide it in the skirting. Already on it." And she was already carrying a notepad over to the mannequins in the back. Taylor glanced down at her outfit. It wasn't that skintight… was it?

"Well, while we get to work on fixing that little issue," Glenn said, "The Wards' Common Area is down the hall on the other side of the elevators. Right-hand side. You'll need to scan your ID to get in."

"That's it? Just ID?" She asked. You would have thought that there'd be a little more security on the Wards' rooms. Mind you, just getting here required going through two layers of security checkpoints, to begin with.

"Just ID. We keep it simple for the Wards. Besides, most people who break into a PRT building aren't interested in the Wards. They're interested in the labs or the jail cells in the basement," Glenn said.

"Ah." Right. Even in Brockton Bay, most people were more interested in breaking their comrades or minions out of jail than getting a kill order on their heads because they decided to take a little detour through the kids league. "I'll get going then." She waved to the door.

"Have fun. I believe Gallant is back from his patrol by now, so you should be able to say hi to him as well," Glenn said before going back to his tablet. Taylor slipped back out into the hallway with Inari as they fell back into debate.

She followed his instructions down the hall and past the elevators until she reached the door marked 'Wards Quarters and Common Area, Authorized Personnel Only'. "This looks like it," she said, glancing down at Inari who nodded.

"Let's go say hello," Inari replied as she pawed the door. Taylor removed the lanyard with her ID and hesitantly swiped it against the card reader next to the door. The red light turned green with a soft chime and the door slid open to reveal a very nicely carpeted hallway that ended in another door. The left wall was another of those one-way mirrors, which meant there was probably a security guard behind it watching everyone who entered. She waved as she walked the length of the corridor. There was no reason to be rude after all.

The next door clicked after she waved her card against the reader. Popping the steel door, also plastered with a warning against non-authorized entry, open she entered what she assumed was the main common area for the wards. The room was spacious with the same carpeting as the hallway behind her and clearly set up as a lounge with a wall to wall TV and several large couches. In the back corner was a small kitchenette with a table, stove, fridge, and four microwaves.

Several of the couches were occupied and their occupants looked up as she and Inari entered. "Hey! Welcome to the party!" Clockblocker said, greeting her with a wave from the far. He was wearing a simple domino mask instead of his helmet. His eyes were fixed on the big screen TV.

"It's not really a party," Gallant said from another couch where he was sitting with Vicky who was cuddled to his side as she snacked on popcorn, her own eyes riveted to the big screen. "Nice to see you again Taylor," he added with a wave. He wasn't wearing a helmet or a domino mask, though she could see one of the latter on the end table next to him.

"Hey Tay. You took a while," Vicky greeted with a wave, sparing a brief glance.

"I stopped by to ask Glenn if I had time to come by here," Taylor replied, as she stepped around the corner armchair and got a proper look at the TV and the last occupant of the room. Sitting in the middle of the room on a footstool was Vista, dressed in ordinary clothing with her helmet on. The youngest ward had a look of concentrate with her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth. "Is that Mario Kart?"

The screen was split in two with one controller in Vista's hands and another in Clockblocker's. In the top half of the screen she recognized Peach and Mario and in the bottom half of the screen was… Brewer? Bower? Booser? Whatever his name was, the villain of all the Mario games. The bottom player was in first while the Peach player was in second.

"Yup, they've been going at it since before I got back," Gallant sighed, stealing a bit of popcorn from his girlfriend.

"Hey! Get your own!" Vicky huffed.

"And I'm winning," Clockblocker added.

"Are not! I'm winning this one!" Vista said, speaking for the first time, "and hello Taylor. Welcome, just let me finish beating this idiot and I'll be right over."

"She said that with me as well," Gallant commented, earning a snicker from Vicky who cooed and Inari hopped up on the seat next to her. Taylor claimed one of the armchairs beside Vicky.

"I'm winning this time!" Vista insisted.

"Nope," Clockblocker said as a blue turtle shell slammed into the Bokser cart on the bottom screen, mere inches before it would have crossed the finish line. Peach's cart flashed by and across the finish line, taking first place.

"NO!"

"YES!"

Vista whirled to her feet and pointed the controller in her hand at Clockblocker dramatically. "REMATCH!"

"Again?" Gallant sighed. Vista blushed, but continued pointing the controller like a sword at Clockblocker's heart.

Clock yawned and stretched as he dropped the controller into his lap. "Yeah- no. At least not for a few minutes. I need a break and we've got our lovely new teammate to say 'Hi' to. Hi Taylor." He waved.

"You just don't want to lose!" Vista huffed before turning to Taylor. She paused, mouth half open and her head slowly tilted to one side. "What are you wearing?" She asked, her tone incredulous

"What? It's my new uniform," Taylor huffed, curling her tails around her legs as she curled up in the chair.

"You look like you belong in Sailor Moon!" Vista said.

"Yeah, I was trying to avoid saying anything," Vicky chimed in, "but why do you look like a magical girl? Did you seriously rot your brain watching cartoons?"

"So you don't like it?" Taylor frowned.

"What? No, you look amazing!" Vista said, shaking her head rapidly, "It's just I didn't think you of all people would go for cute."

"Gee, thanks," Taylor deadpanned. She would be lying if she said that hadn't hurt just a touch. Vista flushed and palmed her face while Clockblocker started laughing.

"What she's trying to say," Gallant said, stepping in, "Is that after the song you picked, and the dark colours, we were all betting on something more dark angel or anti-hero-esque."

"Besides, it isn't cute," VIcky said, causing Taylor's head to snap towards the blonde. Vicky was pointing at her with a piece of popcorn. "It's elegant and mature. Seriously, you might look like a Sailor Moon extra, but you make it look good." Vicky popped the piece of popcorn into her mouth and reached for another.

"Thanks," she said, blushing.

"No problem, but just one question."

"What?"

"Is that star permanent, ooor...?"

Taylor glanced down at the star on her chest. "Oh, temporary. We finalized my logo today so they're working on it right now," she said.

"So what did you pick?" Clockblocker asked as he got up and headed for the kitchen with its fridge.

"... You're just going to have to wait," Taylor said after a moment. Vicky eyed her over a handful of popcorn.

"... It's a pink heart, isn't it?" Her friend asked pointedly.

"... No." She technically wasn't lying.

"Uhuh," Vicky said unconvinced before shovelling a bunch of popcorn into her mouth.

"Want anything Taylor?" Clock asked from the kitchen. Taylor went to reply, only to cause as a loud rumble shook the room, and her stomach. "I'll take that as a yes," Clock cheerfully said as Taylor's mouth clicked shut. "Pizza pocket good?"

"Maybe a few?" Taylor asked and her stomach grumbled, much more quietly, a second time. Due to everything that had happened she hadn't eaten lunch.

"I can do that," Clock announced cheerfully.

"So what's your name?" Vista asked suddenly as she sat down on the footstool facing Taylor.

"You know my name," Taylor replied. Vista rolled her eyes.

"Your hero name, have you picked one yet?" Vista clarified.

Oh. "We did that today too," Taylor replied with a slight blush.

"And?" Vicky asked, poking her nose into the conversation again. Taylor glanced at her and looked around. Both Gallant and Clockblocker were also staring at her. Great.

She sighed, then smiled hesitantly. "Hello, I'm Corentine," she said. It felt so strange to give a different name.

"And I'm still Inari," Inari piped up, earning herself a few head pats from Vicky.

"Corentine, bit of a mouthful, isn't it?" Clock commented.

"Coming from the guy who named himself Clockblocker?" Gallant snarked with a glance towards the kitchen. "That's a nice glass house you have there Clock. Maybe you should stop throwing stones?"

"It does get expensive after a while," Clock admitted. There was a beep as a microwave door shut. "It's still a bit long. How about we just call you Coren instead? Nice and short."

"I like them both," Vista said with a smile.

Taylor sighed. "I'll answer to either, I guess… It is a bit long," she admitted. Which had been one of her main gripes about it.

"Coren it is," Vicky said, reaching across the small gap between the furniture to give her a one-armed hug as the other protected her bowl of popcorn from Gallant's wandering hands.

"So," Vista clapped, now only a foot in front of Taylor. She hadn't even seen the girl move. She was holding out Clockblocker's controller. "Up for a game?"

Taylor blinked at the controller. How long had it been since she even touched a video game? Well over a year at least. "Uuuh, sure?" she slowly agreed after catching Vicky nodding furiously in the corner of her vision.

"Great!" Taylor blinked and Vista was back on her footstool and navigating the menus of the game. Somehow, she suspected that this wasn't going to go her way.

Five races and five losses later Taylor handed her controller off to an amused Clockblocker in exchange for a plate of pizza pockets. "Thanks."

"No problem," he said with a grin as he took his seat again. "So, did they forget to give you a mask, or have they not gotten around to that yet?

Taylor paused, pizza pocket halfway to her mouth. Vista had turned from the victory screen and was giving her a curious look as well. "... I'm not going to have a mask," she said.

Clock stared at her. "Seriously? Why not?"

"Officially it's because I'm supposed to be the first open Ward," Taylor said.

"And unofficially?" Vista asked, leaning over the back of her footstool to stare at her upside down.

"There isn't much of a point." She waved a tail in Vista's direction to emphasize her point.

"Oh."

"So the whole furry fox thingy is a permanent look, huh?" Clockblocker asked. Vicky made a small choking noise and started coughing. Gallant patted her on the back awkwardly.

"Yeah, basically," Taylor admitted before sinking her teeth into the pizza pocket. It was hot, really hot actually, the sort of hot that usually ended in someone complaining about burns on their tongue. She eyed the pizza pocket carefully and gave the gooey cheese a poke. Yup, hot. She took another bite and shrugged. It was a nice hot.

"Something wrong?" Gallant asked as he handed Vicky a pop can of coke that she immediately started chugging.

"Just a bit warm," she replied.

"Just so we're clear," Clock said, "you're not a changer, right?"

"It's about the only thing she isn't," Vicky gasped, coughing into her hand.

"Seriously?"

Taylor rolled her eyes. "I think I mentioned that last time," she reminded him, taking another bite out of her pizza pocket.

He shrugged. "You've got so many powers that it's a bit hard to keep track of what you don't have," he said, "You weren't a tinker or a thinker or a stranger either, right?" Inari snickered and his face fell with disbelief. "Oh come on. Leave some powers for the rest of us."

Taylor blushed again and simply chewed on her pizza pocket. It wasn't her fault that she had basically a bit of everything. She glanced down at the pizza pocket. They were seriously hot, and she was starting to think that it might not be actual heat. "Hey Clock, what's in these?" She asked as she took another bite.

"Uuuh," Clock frowned, "I'm not actually sure? Gimme a sec." He vaulted the armrest and headed back over to the kitchen. There was a rustling of packaging. "I- Whoops." Why did that sound bad?

"Whoops?" Gallant asked, sounding both worried and unimpressed.

"I may have gotten into Aegis' stuff. By accident." Taylor leaned around the corner of the armchair as Vista groaned and Vicky started hiccupping. Clock was standing by the microwaves and holding up a box that read…

"_Uncle Jose's Death By Fire: Ghost Pockets_," she read aloud. "These have ghost peppers in them?" She glanced down at her plate and took another bite. She shrugged. "I'm not seeing a problem. They're really good." She ignored the incredulous stares everyone but Inari was giving her.

Inari hopped into her lap. "Let me try some," she asked.

"Bad idea! Really bad idea!" Vista said, waving her arms in a panic even as Taylor broke off a piece and held it out for Inari. The fox chomped down on it and there was a moment of frozen silence as she chewed, then stiffened. She started shaking.

"Inari?" Taylor asked, carefully passing her plate over to Vicky.

Inari looked up at her with wide watering eyes as small bits of blue light started dancing along the edges of her fur. "It burns," the fox croaked, "Oh god it's getting worse. It's so HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!" With a soft whump and a flare of blue flame, Inari leapt from her lap and dashed straight for the counter, leaving a trail of blue fire behind her as she bounced off a chair, knocking it over, before leaping up onto the counter and into the sink.

"Holy shit!" Vicky flinched backwards, taking flight as zooming back a few feet, knocking her boyfriend over in the process.

As Taylor was swatting at the blue flames in her lap her ears twitched at the sound of water running and a constant glug, glug, glug. After a moment the blue flames flickered and died, having done nothing more than scaring the life out of her. That done she floated out of her seat and looked over the back of the armchair. A glowing ball of blue fire was filling the sink while part of it seemed to be sucking on the end of the faucet.

"It buuuurns," Inari complained from her ball of spectacular, but otherwise harmless, blue flame. Clockblocker scooted another foot back as he reached for the fridge and fished out a container of coffee creamer that he poured out into a small bowl.

"Here. Maybe this will help?" He offered. Inari looked up from the faucet and jumped out of the sink, sending droplets of water everywhere as she leapt to the table and started lapping at the cream. Then she froze. Taylor watched as a twitch vibrated down the length her body like a burning wave.

"THAT MAKES IT WOOOOOOORSSSSSSSSEEEEEE!" Everyone flinched at the scream as the fox dived back into the sink and started chugging more water.

Taylor stared for a moment before holding a hand out to Vicky. "Can I have my plate back?" she asked. After receiving it from a hesitant Vicky she took a bite from the pizza pocket and shrugged. "It's not even really hot," she said, looking at the pizza pocket.

"Do you have taste buds?" Vicky deadpanned.

"My tongue is working just fine," she replied, sticking it out like a mature superheroine as her advisor continued to try to drown herself in the sink.

After a few minutes, mostly consumed by her eating and Inari whimpering in pain whenever she wasn't trying to rinse her mouth out with a lake, the Fox pointed a quavering paw at Clock. "I will have my revenge for that Clockboy!"

"It's Clockblocker, and I was trying to help!"

"I know your reputation! I'll have my revenge!"

"I haven't done anything wrong!"

Taylor tuned out the vowing of vengeance in the background. It was just Inari being a drama queen again. "So, another round?" she asked Vista, looking for a distraction from the chaos that inevitably seemed to follow her around these days.

"Ummm… Will she be okay?" Vista asked, looking back at the burning fox in the sink.

"She'll be fine. This sort of thing happens every other day it seems," Taylor replied with a shrug. Albeit it was the first time that Inari had spontaneously burst into flame. But she seemed fine.

"There will be great vengeance!"

Mostly at least. "So, game?"

Vista shook herself off. "Sure," she said, shooting one last worried glance at the blue flames in the sink. Later Taylor would reflect that Vista must have been a bit distracted by the blue flames and back and forth vows and denials between Inari and Clock. After all, she actually managed to win once before things wrapped up.

-0-0-0-0-0-

There was something to be said about having regular meetings with the local Director. It made things simpler at times to be sure. But, and Glenn could not stress this enough, it also meant that things were developing an annoying tendency to go wrong. Or at least to go odd.

"I would like an explanation," Director Piggot began as she looked around the room whose occupants consisted of Armsmaster, Glenn, Dr. Jackstan, and the head of building security Richard Locke. "I would like an explanation for why there is a… Broken Tinker Tech quark-imaging chamber; A broken EKG machine among other very expensive, and I cannot stress this enough, very expensive pieces of medical equipment; several broken glass doors; three Rohanson scanner, which do not grow on trees; a near containment failure in Armsmaster's laboratory; and reports from our security team of a burning fox in the Wards common area."

The severe woman looked about the room with an expression of disappointment and anger that may as well have been chiselled from stone. No one spoke. "Well?" She demanded, "I would like an explanation. Glenn."

"I'm responsible for Miss Hebert's image, not testing her powers or keeping her in check," he pointed out, ignoring the way her lips got more severe in the corners. This didn't even make his list of one hundred worst first days for a superhero. And he had seen scarier glares direct his way more than once. From his ex-wife to begin with.

"Doctor?" She asked, turning on the head of medical.

"There was an unexpected power interaction," Dr. Jackstan said calmly, "It happens. At least this time no one wound up needing to be admitted to an actual hospital. It's not like I can anticipate when there's going to be an issue with this sort of thing. Power interactions are notoriously unpredictable."

"He's right-" Armsmaster began.

"Did I ask for your opinion Armsmaster?" Piggot asked sharply. The hero fell silent and she turned her attention back to the doctor. "You are correct that there is little we can do to assess the likelihood of an inconvenient power interaction, however, the damage done by the presence of Miss Victoria Dallon-"

"Has already been paid for," Dr. Jackstan said, "Her involvement was either minor or incidental to the rest of the event. I emailed New Wave a bill and Miss Victoria's mother has already delivered a check as of an hour ago to pay for the damages."

Piggot closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "Very well Doctor. Your report on Miss Hebert?"

"Based on admittedly not ideal testing she appears to be in perfect health," he replied, "However, her blood tests are… We're running the samples through more conventional methods of testing right now. The tinker tech system that we normally use has proven to be useless for analyzing her blood. Which is, I can confirm, a bright shining gold that glows slightly in the dark."

"Has she broken more equipment?" Chief Locke asked.

"No, the machines were no worse for wear after running her blood through them," Dr. Jackstan said with a shake of his head, "However, the results they turned out are completely useless and are, in and of themselves, utterly inexplicable. I've already forwarded them to Dr. Chambers for proper analysis, though I expect 'Powers are Bullshit' to be the most detailed explanation we receive."

"What happened?" Piggot asked.

The doctor frowned and shuffled awkwardly. "Well… The first test spat out a Japanese style ink painting of a nine-tailed fox. Very beautiful, but not something that the system should have been capable of printing in the first place." Glenn palmed his face to conceal a chuckle as he remembered the incident with the syringes. It appeared that that wasn't going to be an isolated incident.

"Other subsequent tests with the same and different machines resulted in..." The doctor consulted a notepad. "One drawing with crayons, two more ink paintings, an oil painting in renaissance style of Miss Hebert, and an ancient greek styled copper plaque inscribed with dancing foxes and fish."

"Those systems don't use-" Armsmaster began.

"Copper plates. I know. Once we've run her blood through the conventional system I'll let you know the results, but at present, there is nothing else I can do," the doctor sighed. "It has been an interesting few hours, Director."

"So I see…" The Director sighed. "Locke?"

The heavy-set and heavily muscled man stepped forward. "I've disciplined the security guard for leaving her unattended around the imaging machine," he said, "Otherwise I can say that all procedures were followed. The damage to the glass doors was unfortunate, but Ward Hebert was unconscious while she was being carried out."

"Any recommendations?"

"Our issues started with a breach of protocol. I'll run the men through a refresher course on how to interact with new and prospective Wards. Hopefully, it'll stick this time."

Piggot nodded firmly and turned her attention to Armsmaster. "Which brings us to what could have been the most dangerous incident of the day. Would you kindly explain why you thought bringing a parahuman with a notably adverse effect on tinker tech into a tinker tech-filled laboratory was a good idea?" She asked, "Did you bother considering the consequences?"

"I did," Armsmaster said, "and all evidence suggested that her effect only applied to Tinker Tech that was directly attempting to scan her person. Evidence that continues to be supported by the events of this afternoon."

"You nearly had a containment failure on that object we recovered from the docks while she was in the room," the director growled, "In what way does that continue to confirm anything?"

Armstmaster drew himself up. "No other machines suffered failure nor showed signs of undue degradation due to her presence. I inspected everything myself," he said, "the item in question appears to have reacted to her presence. The machine itself had suffered no damage from her presence, but it is a scanning device and not a proper containment unit. I hadn't deemed the item dangerous enough to require one since it showed no hostility unless actively handled by a living being."

"It reacted to her presence?" Glenn repeated.

"Correct," the armoured hero nodded. "I can say with certainty that it was not her adverse, and unpredictable, effect on scanning devices that caused today's incident. The trident reacted to her presence and attempted to breach the limited containment systems present. I've secured it properly and it fell dormant once again after she left the room. I am planning on having it transferred to the Rig for more intensive study tonight." Which would place it conveniently away from Taylor since Wards rarely were allowed on the Rig. Glenn approved.

"I see…" Piggot sighed. "Another twist to this mystery. Find out what it wants with one of our Wards Armsmaster." He acknowledged the order. "And in the future, keep her out of the laboratories. I don't want to see what else she can break just by being present. Clear?"

"Understood. Does this extend to the power testing labs?" He asked.

"No," she replied before turning to look at the rest of them. "I would very much prefer that this shall not become the norm for us. We are not Salt Lake or Winnipeg. I have greater expectations of behaviour from you and our Wards. Am I clear?"

"Very clear," Glenn said as the rest chorus their agreement.

"Good. Now, what is this I hear about a burning fox chasing Clockblocker around the third floor?" He could hear the pain in her voice as she asked the question. This, he decided, was going to be a long meeting.

-0-0-0-0-0-

Sleep was a wonderful thing. It was the glorious respite from a long day of madness that allowed one to emerge refreshed and capable of facing the new dawn's challenges.

It was also a clawing monster that, for those few who lacked the wherewithal to get up swiftly, clung to those who eschewed the bright light of the morning. People like Victoria Dallon, Vicky to her friends. Yet, even for her, the morning would come when the light spilled through the blinds of her room and cut across her sleeping face.

Vicky grumbled as the morning light disturbed her sleep. "Hrmble," she grunted as she stirred. Eyes cracked open and were immediately shut with a hiss at the bright light. "Uuugh." she rolled over and cracked a tired eye open at the clock on her bedside table.

11:44 blinked back at her.

"Too early," she grumbled as she face-planted back into the pillow.

"VICTORIA!" She flinched as her mother's voice filtered through the door. "TIME TO GET UP!"

"So much for sleep," she grumbled and pushed herself up, rubbing her face as she did so. She brushed her hair out of her face and grumbled as it just fell back. She yawned and stretched. "Stupid pillooooooow, ugh. Need to get a new one," she grumbled

"VICTORIA!" Her mother shouted again.

"GETTING UP!" She bellowed, tugging at her sleep shirt and shorts. They felt a bit tight. She yawned again and stumbled to her feet. Something tangled with her feet and she tripped towards the door.

"Stupid feet," she yawned, taking flight. She floated down the hall, yawning as she went. Why did her mom have to shout for her to get up? It was eleven forty in the morning, way too early to get up on a summer day when you didn't have anything to do.

She floated past her sister's room. Amy's door was open and the brunette was reading a book. "Hey Ames," she waved as she floated by.

"Hey Vick-" Her sister cut off suddenly. "What are you- How- hey, wait!"

Victoria floated on, her fuzzy brain not registering her sister's urgent tone. Instead, instinct carrying her onwards through a familiar regimen. She pushed open the bathroom door and reached for her hairbrush. She ran it through her hair, or tried to. The brush ran into something that tickled her head after a few inches.

"Eh?" she pulled her brush loose and stared at it as her hair twitched. It looked fine. She yawned and tried again. Again it ran into something again.

"Vicky!" Vicky turned a half-awake gaze to her sister who had just shouldered open the door.

"I'm using the bathroom Ames, you can us-" She started as she made another attempt to brush her hair. Again there was something in the way.

"Not that," Amy cut in, "Your head, your butt! You have- Have you even looked in the mirror today?"

"No?"

"Ugh." Amy marched forward and grabbed her face.

Vicky blinked as they stood there, well she was floating, but Amy stood there with her hands on Vicky's cheeks. "Hello? Ames?" She waved a hand in front of her sister's face. The other girl's eyes were open, but no one seemed to be home anymore. She'd just grabbed Vicky, then zoned out completely. She stared at her sister for a long moment as neurons started firing and the early morning haze that always bothered her when she first woke up started to lift.

"Ames?" she asked again. No answer. This was… This was like the day before, with Taylor. Being careful she reached up and gently grabbed Amy's arms where they were covered by her long sleeve shirt. The moment she pulled her sister's hands away from her face Amy's eyes lit back up and she blinked rapidly.

"What just happened?" Amy said shakily, staring at her with wide eyes.

"The same thing as yesterday," Vicky replied, staring at her.

"Same as- Mirror, look in the mirror."

"What? Why?"

"Mirror!" Her sister snarled the word as she grabbed Vicky by the back of her shirt with both hands and spun her to face the mirror.

Vicky, her mind still a bit foggy, stared blankly at her reflection for a moment before details started filtering through her morning brain. She didn't have ears. She tilted her head to the side and patted her head where her ears should have been. Nothing. Not a thing. The silly thought of "So that's why my hair kept falling forward" popped into her head along with a rising panic.

Her eyes drifted up to the top of her head. Two golden triangles of blonde and white hair stood erect on her head, twitching nervously with her mood. Ears. Fox ears. Like Taylor. Exactly like Taylor.

"Fox," she said.

"Yeah," her sister replied.

Vicky licked her lips nervously and noted that her teeth felt a bit odd as well. "I- Fox…" Her eyes dipped lower at a flicker in the mirror. Tail. She had a tail. As golden as her hair with a white tip like her ears. Her new fox ears. To go with her new… fox… tail…

"Amy, please tell me this is you," she begged, reaching back to tug on the tail.

"This isn't me," her sister said with the sort of fatalistic finality normally reserved for informing a patient of a terminal diagnosis.

"Oh…" She stared for a nervous minute before something snapped. "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

-0-0-0-0-0-

A/N: And Done~ *happy kitsune noises* almost 21k words, probably more if you include the A/N. This has been a while coming, but I was getting behind in my other stories so I needed to attend to them no matter how much I really wanted to write this. As you can see the Fluffy Tails are spreading. All hail the fluffy tails, bringers of fluffy days and good times~

and Discord links are in my signature if you want to either toss something my way or join the discussion between story releases~

Gekkou *waves fluffy tails and yawns*

note: Ello everyone~ We're back~ I hope you're having a good day, stay safe everyone~


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